Kidnapped
by eccentricrabbit
Summary: What happens when a baby is snatched from her home? How does it change things for both Scully and Mulder? MSR. [COMPLETE]
1. The Fife Family

**Title:** Kidnapped

**Author:** Sist3r Spo0ky

**Rating:** K+

**Summary:** What happens when a baby is snatched from her home? How does it change things for both Scully and Mulder?

**Authors Note: **This is kind of OC, I suppose. But I just had to write it... I hope someone out there... Somewhere likes this. :-) I wrote this, instead of studying for my English exam. Ha! Which, I should go study for now...

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the x-files. Etc. Etc.

**Chapter 1: The Fife Family**

Out of the five women on the street with young children, Anna was by far the most over protective. Then why was it her daughter kidnapped from her own home? How did the kidnapper get through a locked and bolted door? Because Carrie, her 11 month old daughter had a small, very well secured window. It had been locked from the inside. How on earth had anyone gotten in without her knowing? She hid her face in her husband, Andrew's chest. Squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

When the police had first questioned them, she had been furious at him. Where had he been? Working the Graveyard shift; again. She was stuck at home, frightened and paranoid as usual. She'd even fallen asleep on the couch with a knife under the couch cushion. She'd been like this ever since she'd been mugged and _almost_ raped three years prior. Now she was only thankful he was here to protect her, and he was the only one who seemed to truly understand how distraught she really felt.

--

The knock at the door didn't come as a surprise. Since her daughter's disappearance, many, many people had turned up. Police, Lawyers, Friends, Family even a Psychologist had turned up, wanting to speak with her. So when she opened the door to, two people dressed in business suits, she didn't bat an eyelid, just opened the door. She led them into the lounge and collapsed onto the couch next to Andrew, curling her feet underneath her, she leant against him. The people sat down across from her. The woman had an impassive face, the man's face had many worry-lines, and he smiled empathetically at them. Straight away, I warmed more to him, than the cold woman.

"I'm Agent Mulder, and this is Agent Scully, we're from the Federal Bureau of Investigation." He leant forward and awkwardly shook Andrews's hand. Anna kept her hands limply resting in her lap. The woman Agent -- Agent Sully or whatever her name was... Shook Andrew's, smiled stiffly and sat up straight again, ready for business.

"We're here to investigate the abduction of your daughter, Carrie." Agent Mulder told them. "And we hoped we could ask you a few questions?" She knew that she had tears pouring down her face again. The woman Agent, Sully or was it Scully? Leant forward and took Anna's hand, squeezing it. She felt a little less apprehensive towards her now.

"We want to help you; we want to find your daughter for you. We understand how hard it is for you." Agent Scully sat back, her face now showed only sympathy.

"D-do you have children, Agent Scully?" Anna looked at them both. They didn't really sit like a couple. She'd seen the possessive way Agent Mulder had led Agent Scully into the lounge behind me, but she didn't think they were a couple. "What about you Agent Mulder?"

"Hunny, let's just-" Andrew sighed. "Let's just hurry up and get this over with." He said quietly. She nodded. The Agents asked few questions. Agent Mulder asked the strangest questions, such as -- did you see any strange lights? She just shrugged it off; he was probably just testing her or something. Before they left, Agent Scully turned back around, and asked the dreaded question.

"Is there someone who would have a grudge against you?" How many people over the past week had asked them that? Andrew just gave her a curt 'No.' and he shut the door on them. She had an impulse to just fall on the floor, and never get up again. What had happened to her baby? What had happened to her precious Carrie?

**A/n:** The sign language thing is real. I actually know a few mothers now (including my aunty) who teach their children sign-language as a way to communicate as well as talking. My baby cousin is so gorgeous when she's asking for her Mommy! Please review and let me know what you think!


	2. Carrie Fife

**Chapter 2: Carrie Fife**

_'Anna and Andrew Fife found dead in their home late last night...'_ That was all she had to hear before she turned the television off. Apparently the police had found a ransom note hidden somewhere in the house. Instead of kill the child because the kidnapper didn't get the ransom money, he went back to the house and murdered her parents, leaving the poor baby in the middle of the floor bawling her eyes out. Scully wondered what the baby would be going through. Imagine her confusion at being taken, being brought back, possibly seeing her parents murdered and then being taken to yet another strange place. She had an urge to go down to child services and visit her.

She resisted the urge for a few hours, until she started pacing, then she decided it was time to do something about it. Just to get rid of her anxiety, she would go down and see her. She slipped on her coat and locked her door.

--

"Hello, I'm Agent Dana Scully; from the FBI I'm here to see Carrie Fife." She realised; as she told the receptionist that, she'd only seen one blurry photo of Carrie Fife on the news when she'd been kidnapped. She didn't really know what Carrie looked like. The receptionist spoke on the phone for a couple of minutes, and then looked up at Scully again.

"Sure, you can go through, second door on the left." She pointed down the hall, and gave her a knowing smile. Scully didn't understand why, until the door was opened, and she was greeted by her friend Amber-rose. Scully hugged her tightly; she hadn't seen her in almost a year. She'd been a counselor at a High School the last time she'd seen her. Amber-rose hugged her back, and stepped away from the door to let her in.

"I told Sarah I knew you, and to let you right on in." Amber-rose told me, still not smiling. Scully could hear a baby crying, and she looked over to the cot. "I can't stop her from crying," she said, she looked tired, and worried. Scully went over and impulsively lifted the crying baby into my arms. Carrie touched the side of her head, crying and every now and again sobbing out a 'mama.' "I don't understand why she keeps touching the side of her head. I had a doctor check her out, but he said there is nothing wrong..." Amber-rose cooed at Carrie and rubbed her tiny arm. Carrie just snatched her arm back, and wailed louder. Scully searched my mind, why did this sound so familiar? Mama, the head touching...

"Oh," Scully said suddenly. "It's sign language." She explained to Amber-rose. "My old neighbor Leigh taught her baby daughter sign language. So when she wanted her Dad she put a finger on her chin and said 'Dada,' and when she wanted her Mum, she put her hand to the side of her head and said 'Mama.'"

She put Carrie on the ground, and she sat swaying, tiredly; she stopped sobbing and looked at me in surprise. She touched the side of my head. "Mama, gone." She told her, making the right hand motions... Well she hoped she was. Carrie stopped crying and put her finger to her chin. "Dada, gone." She told her. Carrie lifted her arms up to be lifted, and she hugged her close. At least she wasn't crying now.

Amber-rose stared at me in surprise. She quickly found a high chair and opened it up, and took out a container of food she had in a baby bag sitting next to the cot. "Let's see if she'll eat." Scully placed Carrie in the high chair, she was reluctant to let go. When Amber-rose tried to feed her, Carrie shook her head, and made a face.

"I'll give it a shot," Scully said after the third try. Amber-rose smiled gratefully. She sat in the chair Amber-rose had sat in, and took out a small spoon filled with mushy looking fruit. Carrie shoved her hands under the high chair's tray, and opened her mouth.

Scully must have reminded Carrie of her mother or maybe it was because she understood her sign-language... She didn't know but for the rest of the night Carrie was a little angel. Went to sleep no problems… After Scully had finished feeding her, Amber-rose went off somewhere and told me she'd be back. Scully kissed Carrie's forehead, and felt so sad for her she wanted to cry. She'd lost her mother and her father, she would never know them now.

--

"You were so great with her, Dana. Do you have your own children yet?" Scully touched her belly, and felt sadness wash over her. She would never have her own children. And who the hell would she have them with? Mulder's face flashed before her eyes, but she ignored it. Told herself she only thought of him because she saw him every day.

"No, I don't." She sighed. "If you need any help, just give me a call on my cell." Amber-rose grinned.

"I sure will. Do you want to meet up for lunch later this week?" Scully nodded tiredly, all that baby-stuff had tired her out. She felt sad, _and_ tired now.

"I'll give you a call." Scully grinned, trying to hide it. "So do you work here now?"

"Yeah, I enjoy working here too. It's better than working with the High School students."

"It would be exhausting working with teenagers." She said with a laugh. Amber-rose agreed, and by the time we'd finished talking it was almost one in the morning. We'd moved from outside Carrie's room to the seats in the reception area. Sarah had gone home already.

"See you soon, Dana!" She called as Scully sat herself in her car.

"Bye," Scully waved.

**TBC**


	3. Juggling

**A/n: **I wasn't really sure whether to continue since I didn't get any reviews on Chapter Two. For some reason one of my emails aren't coming through either, so I don't know... Just review and let me know what you think. Love it? (ha!) Hate it?

**Chapter 3: Juggling**

Scully found that it was hard to juggle work, and caring for Carrie at the child-services centre. She managed, just. Mulder didn't know what she was doing, she couldn't even begin to imagine what is reaction would be. He just assumed she had a boyfriend. He seemed a little moody about it actually, but she figured it was just because she wasn't focusing on him or the x-files as much as usual.

It was almost six in the evening, and about five days since Anna and Andrew Fife had been murdered. Scully was sitting in a chair in Carrie's room holding her, and wishing for all the world she was her own daughter. Amber-rose came in, and Scully recognised her sheepish smile straight away.

"What have you done Amber?" She asked cautiously.

"I uh, well... You have to see a child-services counselor, other than me tomorrow. They want to see if you would be a fit enough foster-mother for Carrie." Scully's eyes almost popped out.

"Amber!" She tried not to shout, not wanting to frighten Carrie. But she seemed to feel the tension, and she stiffened, eyes popping out like Scully's. "I work at the FBI. It's dangerous, and I'm not home half the time!" Scully mumbled and stuttered a bit about the importance of my work until Carrie started crying. She bounced her on her knee and looked at Carrie instead of at Amber-rose. "I would do almost anything for her, Amber. But I'm afraid. I'm going to let Mulder down and..." She wondered how to put this.

"You love him don't you?"

"No! I was going to say he means a lot to me. He's been my best friend for five years."

"Then he'll understand." Scully looked at her in surprise, she looked confident now. "You love her Dana. You need her as much as she needs you now." She looked down at Carrie who gave a big grin, her four teeth made her smile comical. Scully smiled back and touched her little button nose.

"Carrie, Carrie, Carrie." She whispered, and Carrie giggled. "I need to talk to him." She said finally, her voice calmer. She felt more in control now, surely she and Mulder could work something out. She could hire a Nanny... Then if she had to go away she could call her in. She just wouldn't be able to go unless it was very important. Maybe he could get another partner to go out in the field with him? Millions of possibilities ran through her mind.

"I'll call him to come down..." Amber-rose said. Scully felt panicked again, but forced out a 'Yes,' and Amber-rose left. She sat on the floor with Carrie's toys and handed her a few. She chewed on them, and Scully put a little pink bib with rabbits on it around her neck so that she didn't drool all over her pajamas.

It felt like half the night to her, but it was actually only an hour and a half before Mulder arrived. Amber-rose walked him to the door, and then winked at Scully before leaving.

"Is this Carrie Fife?" His eyes widened.

"What did Amber-rose tell you?" She asked, and gathered a worried looking Carrie into her arms and bounced her on her knee again. Carrie stared at Mulder, who sat down on the floor across from them, and handed Carrie a toy.

"Just to come down, to see you about something important." There was a pause. "You want to adopt her?" He guessed.

"Foster, then maybe adopt." Scully said quickly. It was better to get it over with she decided, instead of making a whole speech about it.

"Dana," her head whipped up at the use of her first name. He tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. "I want you to do this. I want you to leave and-"

"No, no I'm not leaving you. Maybe you can just get a new field partner?" She asked optimistically.

"I don't think they'd let me do that." There was a tense silence. "Will you let me help you with Carrie?" She thought she had misheard him, but when he looked up, her heart skipped a beat.

"We can both cut down our hours. I can help you with her." Scully felt a huge smile creep onto her face. "Scully, why would I even bother continuing the x-files with a new partner? You and me, we _are_ the x-files. We're a team, and I don't want to work with anyone new."

"Mulder," She said slowly.

"Yeah,"

"That sounded really sappy." He laughed.

"I know, I know."

**TBC**


	4. Plans

**Chapter 4: Plans**

Scully was panicking. Mulder was coming with her for the interview at the Child Care Centre down town, she was due there in about half an hour.. She nervously ran a brush through her hair again, and ran her tongue over her lips. _Everything will be fine._ She told herself. _Even if you don't get to foster her, or adopt her..._ But the thought of Carrie going to live with a stranger made her feel terrible. She'd grown so attached to Carrie. It seemed Mulder had too.

Scully hadn't given how Mulder would help her care for Carrie much thought. She doubted he would want to move in with her. They didn't even have a relationship, well not like _that_ and it would be very hard to get used to living with Mulder _and_ working with him. _But you want to live with him._ That thought had niggled at the back of her mind since the moment Mulder had asked to help her with Carrie.

She heard a knock at the door, it had to be Mulder... He was driving them into town. She heard the door unlock, and Mulder's footsteps. "I'm in my bedroom," Scully called out to him. He stood at the door, and though his face was calm, she noticed his eyes darting around the room. He was nervous too.

"Are you ready to go? Sorry I'm late." Scully shrugged and went to put her hair brush down on her duchess. Because of nerves, she accidentally missed the duchess and the hair brush fell on the floor. "Nervous much?" Mulder asked with a chuckle and picked the hair brush up for her.

"Maybe a little," Scully admitted and grabbed her handbag. "We better leave, we don't want to be late."

"Yeah that would give them a bad impression first off." Mulder led her out his hand guiding her on her lower back. He locked the door behind them, and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. He could see through her, he knew exactly how much this meant for her.

--

"Scully, have you thought about what we're going to tell the Child Services Counselor?" Mulder asked her. Scully knew what he meant, what were they to tell the counselor about their relationship?

"Do you think we should tell the counselor the truth?" Scully asked.

"What's the truth?" Mulder asked, glancing at her and then back at the road. Scully didn't know what to say. She'd had feelings for Mulder since the beginning. But not until lately had she even begun to admit it to herself. He probably could have had her from their first case. She ran her tongue over her lips again.

"I don't know," she said, going for the middle ground. "I've felt... Close to you... For a long time." She said slowly. Mulder grinned boyishly.

"I think we could claim we've been in a relationship since our first case," he said almost echoing her earlier thoughts. "They could ask anyone at the FBI and they'd say we've been sleeping together since day one." Mulder said with a laugh. Scully laughed too, it was so true. Their nicknames had been Mr. and Mrs. Spooky for as long as she could remember.

"How is this going to work?" She asked Mulder as he parked in the parking lot outside Child Services. He looked at her, and then down at the steering wheel. "I have a plan, if you're willing to hear it."

"Does it involve aliens?" She teased. He didn't say anything, and she felt bad. This was serious, she shouldn't be joking. "Go on, I'm listening." He looked up at her.

"We can take a couple of weeks off. It would be the first time either of us has asked for leave." He paused and gauged her reaction. "We can get Carrie settled, and maybe find a place big enough for the three of us." He said the last part in a big rush, and she wanted to laugh at him. She'd _never_ heard Mulder nervous like this before -- not around her anyway.

"It sounds good to me," she reassured him. Then it hit her. _For the three of us._ She went over and over it in her mind. "You mean -- you want to move in with me?" Scully's eyes widened. "You're serious?" Mulder nodded slowly, unsure of what she was thinking. "I - wow Mulder." She didn't know what to say.

"I mean if you don't want to we don't..."

"Of course I do, you dope." Scully said swatting his arm. "I'm just surprised that it's _you_ suggesting we move in together." She wanted to ask if it was only for Carrie's sake, but she was afraid, so she left it at that. "Lets go in then." She said checking the time on her watch.

**TBC**


	5. The Interview

**Chapter 5: The interview**

They sat in silence, waiting for the counselor to arrive. Amanda (the receptionist) had led them into a little room. It was nicely furnished, but their nerves had gotten the better of them, and the room was filled with tension.

"Hello, I'm Jane Abott." Both Scully and Mulder jumped in their seats and turned around. A tall woman with black hair held back in a loose bun strode into the room. Scully felt especially short, this woman even dwarfed Mulder. "You must be Dana Scully, and Fox Mulder, hmm?" She asked sitting down, putting the clipboard she was holding on her bony knees.

"Yes," Scully said. Mulder smiled, that Mulder-smile and Scully felt herself relaxing ever-so-slightly. Mulder's hand rested on her knee, though neither she nor Mulder seemed to notice.

"Well I'm going to ask you a few questions, okay?" Scully nodded. The questions were fairly simple. Her first name, her occupation, living relatives and where she lived. She asked Mulder the same questions. Finally it came to the questions that she and Mulder had only just discussed.

"How long have you and Mulder been together?" They looked at each other.

"Never officially." Scully said cautiously. "But probably a couple of months after I started working with him at the FBI." Jane nodded. "Is there someone who could validate that?" Scully thought about it, and looked at Mulder for help.

"My friends..." Mulder said. "Do you want their names?" Jane smiled.

"Friends are fine. Can you write down their names, and phone numbers for me?"

"Sure," Mulder scrawled the Lone Gunmen's names and phone numbers on the paper. Scully wanted to whack him. This woman would think they were _nuts._ What if the Lone Gunmen said something stupid? Mulder looked at her, and saw the flashes of anger in her eyes, he just shrugged, which made her madder than ever.

"Alright, and you don't live together?" Jane asked, looking concerned.

"We plan on moving in together," Mulder told Jane.

"That's good," Jane smiled bigger. "You know, off the record... I'm sure you're going to get to adopt Carrie. If you explain the plans you mentioned to me earlier about cutting down on your work hours, and hiring a Nanny... Moving in together. You're sacrificing a lot for this little girl -- and it shows you'll do anything for her. Now our interview is over, and I'll be talking to my superior, and ultimately, it's his choice. You'll know within the next week." Jane made a shoo-ing motion with her hand as the left the room.

"That was..." Scully couldn't think of the right word, so she just shut up.

"Lets go check on Carrie," Mulder suggested. Scully just followed him meekly, she felt weak. The interview she'd been worrying about was finally over -- and it seemed to be good news. She made a silent prayer in her mind that they would get Carrie.

--

That night she and Mulder sat in her apartment eating take-away food, each lost in their own thoughts. She'd berated Mulder for telling Jane about the Lone Gunmen, but forgave him when he told her he'd spoken to them earlier and told them everything. At least he had planned ahead, she'd been too busy stressing to do anything. She felt shy, well maybe not -- she'd never felt _shy_. But she felt apprehensive, just as she had before she met Mulder -- and when she first spoke to him. She still remembered vividly.

"Do you believe in the existence of extraterrestrials Agent Scully," she said with a laugh.

"Why yes I do, Agent Mulder." He laughed too. "May have saved a few hassles and pointless arguments." Scully wasn't sure whether to laugh, or whether she should be insulted. She just stared at him. "What a boring partnership that would've been." He told her, cupping the side of her face with his hand, and looking at her with one of those tender looks he sometimes gave her. They made her think of the color pink, and teddy bears. She leant forward and rested her forehead against his.

"Things are going to work out fine, won't they Mulder?" She asked softly. Wishing she didn't sound so weak, but glad he knew how she felt, how vulnerable she felt. This was a big deal. Adopting a child, _moving in_ with Mulder... He kissed her forehead, and ran his fingers through her hair.

"Things will be fine," he assured her. "I'll make sure of it."

**--**

The phone-call woke them both. They looked at each other worriedly. It had been a week with no word, they'd been on together to visit Carrie each day. But neither of them asked what was happening. Somehow they just knew this was _the_ call they had been waiting for. They scrambled for the phone, Scully got it first. She lay on her back on the floor after their tussle, and Mulder was kneeling over her, a smirk on his face. She pushed him with her free hand, and sat on the floor resting her back against the couch.

"Hi, yes... Thanks..." Feeling a little mean, Scully put it on speaker-phone so Mulder could hear. He gave her a relieved smile.

"Is Fox Mulder with you now?" The man asked.

"Yes, you're on speaker phone."

"I have some good news," the man said. "We have decided you would be suitable for Carrie." Both Scully and Mulder held their breath, waiting for the 'but.' A few awkward seconds passed, and the man said nothing. He just chuckled lightly. "Breathe," he instructed them. Scully hugged Mulder tightly.

"Thank you," she said. "When - how?" She started laughing. She was so excited she wasn't even making sense.

"You can come down now if you like, we'll have someone inspect your home." He paused. "Don't be insulted - everyones homes have to be inspected first."

"We'll get her room ready now then, and come down after lunch." Mulder told him, his voice calm but a muscle in his jaw was twitching, and giving away his excitement.

Things would be changing a lot from now on. But neither gave it a second thought as they set up Scully's spare bedroom. They hadn't bought paint yet, but they had the furniture and toys she needed. Scully decided that it was about time she should tell her mother what was going on...

**The End? Sequel? Let me know.**


	6. Adjusting

**Chapter 6: Adjusting**

**A/n:**_ Sorry about the delay. Hopefully you guys are still reading this! Tell me what you think. How can I improve this? Are Scully and Mulder too out of character? I thought you might like to see the baby who inspired me to write this. Petra-Rose. :) _http://i130. was contemplating whether she should invite her mother over to talk, or whether she should go out to visit her. Mulder was filling out _more_ paperwork and Carrie was sound asleep in her new cot. Carrie had been tired and grumpy when they'd brought her home, and she didn't want to eat. As a Doctor she wasn't too worried, with being thrown around from place to place Carrie's routine had been disrupted, the not eating and the grumpiness was expected. Scully would just make sure Carrie ate when she woke up.

"You know something Scully?" Mulder said interrupting her thoughts.

"What?"

"You can ask me for my opinion," Scully just shook her head in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Well earlier you said we need to tell your Mom about what's going on. The obvious thing you've been lost in thought over for the last ten minutes -- is whether you're going to go see her, or whether she's going to come here." He paused and looked sheepish. "And what to tell her about me."

"I wasn't worried about what I was going to tell her about you. She loves you _fox._" Scully mimicked her Mom by calling him Fox, and Mulder gave her a boyish grin. "But you're right about the rest. And I'm worried how she's going to react, she will be hurt I didn't tell her in the beginning." Scully sat lost in thought again, this time wondering how Mulder had figured out what was going through her head. "So what do you think we should do?" Though she loved Mulder, and she felt comfortable around him... It was going to take some time to get used to saying "we" as in Mulder and I as a couple, not Mulder and I as work partners. He grinned again.

"Finally you ask me!" He over-dramatized his words and rolled his eyes. She hid her smile by pretending to pick something up off the floor. "I think you should invite your Mom here. She can meet Carrie, and Carrie will be in her own home. Maybe she'll be more comfortable here." Scully just stared at him.

"Sounds good," she said quietly. She knew he was trying to figure out what was going through her mind again, so she turned away from him. "I think I'm going to go and lie down a while before Carrie wakes." She risked a look at him, he just looked confused.

"Okay," he answered and put his pen down. "When will you ask your Mom to come over?"

"I don't know!" Scully snapped and slammed her bedroom door after her. She knew she was acting like a spoiled teenager. But it was so strange. This - Mulder living here and being so calm... Like he'd lived in her _home_ his whole life. There was a soft knock at the door, and she felt ashamed of herself. "I'm sorry," she called to Mulder. She rolled over and pushed her face into her pillow. She heard the door click open, and she sniffed back tears. But she could smell Mulder on her pillow and a few tears leaked out and soaked into the pillow. She felt the mattress go down a little as Mulder sat down. He reached out and touched her shoulder, she flinched. And he pulled his hand away.

"What did I do to upset you?" He asked gently, and still sounded ever-so-calm.

"How can you be so calm about this?" She asked turning her tear-stained face to him. "How can you be happy to move in and help me with Carrie?" She accidentally sobbed, and coughed to cover it. "Why do you _want_ to? Why are you so _calm_?!" Mulder pulled her into him, and she cried into his shoulder. "I'm scared," she admitted. "I don't want our friendship, our relationship to be ruined by this. And I don't know how you feel."

"You don't know how I feel about you?" He asked, pulling away slightly. "I thought I told you that..."

"But for Carrie's sake," she said softly. "You moved in for Carrie's sake, and said we'd been in a relationship so that we could get Carrie. So that _I_ could... And you could help me. I've started to think it's the whole _guilt_ thing again. That you feel obliged to help me with Carrie." Scully told him. Mulder's eyes went dark, and she felt bad, his whole face fell.

"Do you really believe that?"

"I _don't know!_" Scully cried. "I'm confused."

"Scully I _love_ you. Okay? It's not something I'm about to confess to, to just anyone. I _love_ you and that's why I want to help you with Carrie. Because if I didn't I would be at work right now, alone, or with a new partner and that's not what I want. _You know that._" He told her. "I love you," he said again softly, wiping away her tears, and kissing her forehead. "I'm hurt that you would think I felt obliged to do this," she could hear the pain in his voice, and believed every word. He leant down to look her in the eyes, and she reached up, her hand behind his neck, and her fingers in his hair. And she kissed him. No bees, no nothing interrupted this time -- she really kissed him. It wasn't like there were fireworks, or some sudden revelation afterwards. Just that she felt so much better. She felt like things were right again.

"I don't handle change very well. I want you here Mulder, I love you too. But it's going to take me a while to get used to living with someone else." She told him, rubbing her nose against his. A cry from the baby monitor alerted her to the fact that Carrie was awake again.

"I think we should invite your mother for dinner tonight." Mulder told her brushing a piece of hair from her face. "You go feed our baby, and make sure she's okay. And I'll call your Mom." Scully hugged him gratefully.

"Thank you so much, Mulder." He hugged her back, and she went to Carrie's bedroom.

Carrie's room had old wallpaper on it at the moment, but she had a beautiful cot that she'd bought for Carrie. White with white bedsheets and a little pink cot blanket with white rabbits on the bottom. Carrie was sitting up, tears stained her little cheeks and she held her arms up when Scully was close enough to pick her up. Carrie rested her head on her shoulder, and Scully rocked her gently.

"It's alright baby," she told Carrie. "I love you," she smiled at Carrie, and Carrie showed her few teeth, and grinned back. Her eyes were very much like Scully's, but she had a very little amount of brown hair. Scully softly touched Carrie's hair and lay her on the changing-table. "Lunch after I've changed you hunny, what do you think?" Carrie made baby noises, and smiled happily at her again. Squealing when Scully handed her, her favourite soft toy cat.

"Your Mom wasn't home so I left her a message to call us back." Mulder told Scully. She handed him the dirty nappie in a plastic bag with an evil grin on her face.

"Thanks Mulder, think you could go put that in the bin?" Mulder made a face.

"Way to say thank you Scully," he called over his shoulder as he left the room.

"Okay we're going to try you on some yummy pear, what do you say?" Scully asked Carrie. Carrie ignored her and seemed determined to reach the toys on the counter near her changing table. Mulder came in and picked her up.

"I'll put her in her high-chair, the baby food has been warmed up, you just need to find that funny looking spoon you bought her." He told her. Scully agreed and followed behind them. Carrie waved at her, and she waved back.

"I'm not going anywhere," she told Carrie. Carrie just squealed again, and waved more. Mulder's poor ears.

Carrie ate like she hadn't eaten in weeks, when really she'd missed just one feed. Already Carrie seemed to be settling down in her house. And it made Scully happy. She looked over at Mulder who was piling all the paper-work together.

"I'm going to take this into Skinner. Do you want me to pick anything up?" Scully burst into laughter at his last comment.

"_Do you want me to pick anything up_?" Carrie copied Scully, laughing along with her, spitting bits of fruit onto her bib and the high-chair's tray. Scully stopped laughing, and Mulder rolled his eyes. "That just... Sounded... So... Like a _father_ or a _husband_..." She wanted to hit herself after saying the father and husband thing. Why didn't she think before she spoke? Mulder chuckled.

"But seriously, do you need anything?" He asked a red-faced Scully.

"No, no it's okay. Oh maybe you could get a cooked chicken for dinner? I'm thinking of making "treasure island chicken," if my Mom comes, because thats her favourite." Scully tried to look serious when she asked, but it felt so strange to be asking Mulder something like that, and talking about making dinner and feeding the baby. Carrie impatiently opened her mouth, waiting for more. Mulder laughed, and Carrie pointed at him.

"We'll get used to this," he moved his hand between the two of them. Carrie kicked her feet impatiently. "Eventually..." He said as he left the room.

**Review!**

**TBC.**


	7. Mrs Scully

**Chapter 7: Mrs. Scully**

**A/n: **I'm not using my own computer so I feel a bit awkward. I hope this chapter is okay. I haven't even read over it yet… Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews. KEEP REVIEWING! I love checking my inbox and finding that I have reviews. It makes me smile. :-)

--

Her Mom called back only five minutes or so after Mulder had left. She said she would be happy to come for dinner, and though she asked many times on the phone why Scully was all of a sudden asking her Mom to come for dinner – Scully refused to tell her. Telling her Mom over the phone what was going on was not good. It would only cause problems.

Mulder arrived back at around six, and Carrie was sleeping again. Though so far Carrie hadn't gotten into the routine of going to sleep from six, and staying asleep. At eight or nine at night she woke, and Scully had to give her a cuddle and try and get her back to sleep again. She couldn't figure out why Carrie kept waking. It was probably good tonight; it meant her mother would be able to meet her. To her surprise Mulder dropped a few shopping bags filled with food on the table and tip toed into Carrie's room to check on her.

"She always looks so at peace when she's sleeping," Mulder told her. "And when she's in your arms." She wrapped her arms around him, and hugged him. After a few minutes Mulder let her go and began unpacking the shopping bags.

"My mom is coming at about seven or seven thirty. So I better get dinner started." Scully touched his shoulder as he opened the fridge. "Thank you Mulder." He looked her in the eyes, and knew she wasn't only thanking him for bringing home the food.

--

"Hi Mom," Scully hugged her Mom. She didn't realize how much she had missed her until her Mom had finally arrived.

"Hi Dana, darling. How are you?" She pulled away from her, and Scully took the chance to shut the door and lead her into the lounge. She'd decided to let Mulder finish the dinner while she told her Mom what was going on. Then they could all talk together over a meal, and hopefully things would go smoothly…

But just as she opened her mouth, a soft crying came from the baby monitor on the coffee table. Mrs. Scully stared at it, not quite comprehending. Scully covered her face. Uh oh.

"Mulder, can you please get her?" Scully couldn't believe her luck. Carrie hadn't woken this early in the last few days of staying here… "Uh mom, we were on a case and…" She paused, maybe getting straight to the point would be easier than the whole story right now. "I've adopted a little girl," Scully smiled as Mulder came in with a sleepy and pink-cheeked Carrie in his arms. He handed her to Scully and smiled at Mrs. Scully.

"I'm just going to go turn dinner off,"

"Okay, Fox." Mrs. Scully said, a now dazed expression on her face. She looked between Carrie and Mulder in absolute shock. Carrie snuggled into Scully, her thumb straight in her mouth.

"And uh, Mulder's moved in to help me with Carrie and all. Scully explained slowly, and cautiously. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. Things have been hectic, and I just wasn't up to talking about it. I didn't want you to tell me I was doing the wrong thing," Scully blurted out, surprising even herself.

"I – Dana… I mean first you don't tell me about your cancer, and now a baby? And you and Fox…" Mrs. Scully looked hurt, and her voice was low and angry. Carrie stared at her curiously. "I'm your mother, you can tell me anything." Mrs. Scully smiled and held her arms out for Carrie. Who squirmed a little, but settled against Mrs. Scully fairly quickly.

Mulder came back in, and stood awkwardly not sure where to sit. What had Scully told her Mom about him? He sat next to Scully but not to close, far enough so that not one part of their body touched.

"This is a bit of a shock," Mrs. Scully told Mulder. But her face was much calmer than it was before he came into the room.

"Understatement of the year," Scully said with a chuckle. "I'm sorry Mom," She leant forward and took her Mom's soft hand in her own. She suddenly realized that her Mom was getting older now. The crow's feet at the corners of her eyes had deepened, and her hands felt so delicate held in her own young hands.

"You and Dana?" Mrs. Scully asked Mulder.

"We…" Mulder didn't know what to say. What the hell did he say to Scully's Mom about their relationship? He didn't want to put his foot in it and say something Scully didn't want him to say.

"We're not really sure." Scully admitted. "We've always been very close. I don't quite know what to call our relationship," she laughed nervously.

"Well do you love each other?" Mrs. Scully stroked Carrie's head. She was asleep again. Scully felt her cheeks heat up, and noticed red creepy up Mulder's neck too. "It's quite a simple question really." Mrs. Scully told them with an amused smile.

"I suppose… I…" Scully looked at Mulder.

"I love your daughter Mrs. Scully, and I'll take care of her." He assured her.

"And you, Dana?"

"I love him, Mom. But you already knew that." She accused as a grin spread across Mrs. Scully's face.

"Maybe I already knew, yes." Scully rolled her eyes and gently lifted Carrie out of her Mom's arms. She barely stirred at all. She left the room to put Carrie back in her cot. When she came back into her lounge neither; Mulder or her mother were sitting there. She wandered into the kitchen and found her Mom sitting at the table a bowl of Scully's chicken dish in front of her.

"Smells good, Dana." Mrs. Scully told her daughter. She saw the look in her mother's eye that said I haven't finished yet. Scully supposed that she should have expected more than being berated for not even five minutes.

--

After they'd finished eating, which had gone smoothly. Which Scully was pleased with, considering that nothing else had gone as planned tonight. They sat in her lounge again with a glass of wine each. Her mom was considerably warmer towards both of them after she'd had a little wine. She was chatting with Mulder about their church group. And though Mulder wasn't religious he seemed to be having a good laugh about something her mom had said. She was feeling more relaxed with every mouthful, and she silently watched Mulder, tuning right out of their conversation and watched as he slowly inched closer to her on the couch.

"So how will you take care of Carrie while working for the FBI?" Her mom asked suddenly, startling her.

"I – we have time off for another two weeks. And I'm cutting down my hours."

"That's good, and you Mulder?"

"I won't be doing as much field work." He said. "But I think it would be better if I stayed with the same hours I have now, we're going to need the money when we move into a town house." He and Scully winced at the same time. Maybe he shouldn't have mentioned that yet…

"If you're buying a house together, do you think you will be getting married soon?" Scully wanted to lean forward and cover her mother's mouth to shut her up. Marriage? Mulder…? That made her heart rate speed up. "Sorry for being so abrupt, but I think I have a right to." She frowned. "Keeping me in the dark for such a long time," she mumbled.

"I – we aren't sure." Scully said quickly. "We haven't discussed that yet. We're busy with Carrie and work and all…" She gave Mulder a silencing look with her eyes. So Mulder merely nodded at her mom.

--

Finally Mrs. Scully decided it was time to go. She hugged Mulder, who smiled and gathered their wine glasses and headed into the kitchen to leave Scully and her mom alone to say goodbye.

"I love you mom," Scully said quickly hugging her mom tightly, and then letting her go and opening the door. Was that subtle enough? She wondered.

"I love you too Dana," her mom told her. "I know you're pushing me out, I'm not stupid. Now I want to be kept in the loop from now on. At the very least one phone call a day!" She called over her shoulder as she left. Scully sighed with relief when she shut the door. It was good to catch up with her mom and hear how Tara and Bill were going. But trying to explain why she hadn't told her mom about adopting Carrie, and Mulder moving in… That was very difficult.

Mulder came into the bedroom and told her he'd finished the dishes. She thanked him and kissed him quickly on the lips before slipping under the covers. Mulder stripped and found a pair of boxers to put on, and got into bed.

The first few nights had been so awkward. They'd tried not to touch each other. But eventually Scully gave up and curled up next to him. Neither had really talked about their relationship, and both had been to exhausted at night to do anything more than sleep. But tonight, she felt a little more energized. A weight had been lifted from her shoulders, she'd finally told her mother!

"I love you," she whispered to Mulder and rested her head on his chest, wrapping her arm around him. Mulder dusted kisses down her face, and reached her lips. He ran his fingers through her hair.

"I love you too," he said and stopped kissing her, and just looked at her in the dark. She could only just see his face, but she saw something in his face she hadn't seen before. The look of someone who had been searching for something all his life, and he'd finally found it. She didn't understand that though. What had he found? Certainly not his sister…

**TBC**

**Review!**

**A/n: **I made a dedication for this story. And even though she's not reading this story because she's not an x-files fan (...yet) I think that she is the best person to dedicate this to:-) I hope you enjoy this chapter. Let me know what you think (as always!)


	8. Smooth Sailing

**Chapter 8: Smooth Sailing**

**--**

**Around about two weeks later.**

**--**

"I'm taking Carrie into the Doctor for a check-up today," Scully called from Carrie's bedroom. She was dressing her in the outfit her Mom had bought for Carrie and dropped off the day before. She'd seemed much happier about the whole 'situation' now she'd had time to think about it.

Carrie was quiet today, but then she wasn't often noisy. Well... when you turned nursery rhymes on, then she tended to squeal quite a bit and attempt to sing. Mulder sometimes called her their little musician. When she wasn't dancing or 'singing' to music, she was attempting to make music with her toys hammering away at them with her tiny fists.

It hadn't taken long for her or Mulder to settle into a routine. Things would be disrupted a little now that they had to find a Nanny and get back to work. Mulder was starting again today, but Skinner told Scully she wasn't to come back for at least another week. She was a little worried that Mulder would have to go it alone for a while. But then if he didn't go back, there would be more reason for them to want to close the x-files. And if she left poor Carrie with a babysitter, she would suffer. Both she and Mulder had decided that Carrie came first.

Mulder stood awkwardly in the doorway. She could feel his presence before she turned around. Carrie was peering around the side of Scully trying to see him. "I'm going to work now ladies," he told them in a serious voice. He kissed Carrie on the cheek and looked at Scully. "Bye Scully." She rolled her eyes at him.

"What about me?"

"What about you?" He asked, looking truly confused.

"You forgot to give _me_ a goodbye kiss," she whispered kissing him quickly on the lips. "Good luck for today," she told him as if nothing had just happened. Mulder stood stock still. This didn't happen -- they barely ever kissed... Well apart from when they were in bed. He smirked. They did a lot more than kissing then. He pushed her hair away and kissed her neck.

"Everything will work out, give me a call at lunch time and tell me how the Doctor's appointment goes." He waved at the door and Carrie waved her chubby hand at him. She'd somehow rolled on the changing table and pulled herself up. Scully looked at her in surprise.

"See you Mulder," she called as the front door opened. It closed with a click and she smiled at Carrie. "Now how did you do that? Sit yourself up on this narrow little changing table, huh?" She straightened the little white pants, and finished buttoning the white blouse, and her smile grew. Carrie looked gorgeous. She was chubby now, and her cheeks had pink in them. She looked so much healthier now that she was settled in. Scully grabbed her baby brush and ran it over the sparse amount of hair on her head. Carrie pushed the hairbrush away and grabbed onto two of Scully's fingers. "Mommy's going to get you some food now, before we go." She told her. Carrie just gurgled and let go of Scully's fingers holding her arms up to be lifted.

"Yummy," Scully said as she handed Carrie half a sandwich. Carrie stuffed the whole thing in her mouth, and Scully had to put her finger in and fish half of it out before she choked. "Yummy, but it doesn't mean you have to stuff the whole thing in your mouth..." She sighed. "You'll choke you know? You have to _chew_ your food." Scully made chewing motions with her jaw. Carrie's eyes locked with hers, and she copied. "Good girl," Scully told her. She broke the next half into smaller bits, and made her chew. Carrie soon got bored and started trying to blow raspberry's, and Scully decided she'd had enough to eat. She held the sipper cup out, and Carrie barely spilled any. "You're getting better at this." Scully told her. She cleaned the high-chair tray and took Carrie's bib off. Amazingly the white blouse was still white, and stainless.

"Time to go to the Doctor missy," Scully carried her on her hip and found her handbag and keys. She took a look around her fairly messy lounge. The thing with Carrie was, she really needed to be entertained a lot when she was awake. Toys littered the floor, and her favourite blanket was scrunched up on the couch. But instead of feeling down, or like she needed to clean up. She felt a bubble of happiness inside of her. Her life was changing drastically, but so far it seemed to be changing for the better.

--

Dr. Robert Barnard. Scully had read the name on the door a dozen times. Children sniffed, and sneezed next to her and the elderly wheezed. Carrie wasn't sick now, but she wasn't sure how long it would be before she did get sick after being in a room with so many sick people. The poor woman next to her had five children. She tried to keep them all under control, but it was about impossible and she looked about ready to pull out her hair. Scully knew all of their names now, as the woman was forever calling them back to sit next to her. Lily, David, Peter, George and Sarah. She assumed George and Sarah were twins. They seemed to be the oldest, and the most quiet children of the bunch. She was quite enjoying watching the younger children play, and she looked at Carrie on her knee and wondered what she would be like when she was a toddler like them. But her doctor called "Carrie Scully," and she went into the room.

"Well how is it going?" Robert asked her. She'd known him for years, and studied with him back in medical school. She smiled.

"It's going really, really well." She placed Carrie on the bed in the room, and Carrie barely fussed at all as Robert checked her temperature, and put the cold stethoscope on her chest. Scully didn't speak while he did this. She just felt mildly uncomfortable having a doctor check over her daughter, being a doctor herself and all.

"I feel like I'm second guessing you. I know you're a marvelous doctor, but I suppose the people at the adoption agency asked you to do this?" Scully nodded as Robert typed away at his computer. "Well here you are, give this to them. And take care of yourself Dana," he patted her on the shoulder.

"You too Robert," Scully told him.

"If I hadn't read Carrie's file I may have asked you out," he winked at her. "But I see you're living with your FBI partner. Highly unusual." He smiled.

"That's on record?" Scully voice was high and worried. "Anyone can access it?"

"Uh, almost anyone..." Robert said.

--

Mulder came in looking a little weary. He dropped himself onto the couch. It was already 8pm, and Carrie was fast asleep. Scully glared at him from the other side of the couch. Mulder just rubbed his face.

"Why didn't you call and tell me you would be late?" She demanded. "I know you're used to living alone, but I worry about you even more now. You have our daughter to worry about." They both paused. _Our daughter._

"I'm sorry, Scully." Mulder said, looking like he meant it. "I know I'm taking my time getting used to being a family." He moved closer and hugged her close. "Thank you for leaving a message and telling me how it went at the doctors." Mulder said.

"That brings up yet another worrying subject," Scully said stiffening in his arms. "Even Dr. Barnard can access our files. We have to have them sealed some how. Only Skinner knows about _us_ and he's basically going against the law just letting us remain partners. If anyone else found out..." Mulder stared into space, thinking about it for a while.

"I'll see of the lone gunmen can do anything about it. I had them check the backgrounds of all the Nanny's on the list we got given by the way." Mulder said smiling. Scully pulled away in surprise. He'd done that? She hadn't even given getting a Nanny much thought. "Well do you want to know who sounds the best for us to hire?"

"Of course,"

"Well Rachel House, has the best recommendations. And the guys say she would be best. But you can go through the list, and see the information Byers pulled for us to go through."

"Thank you Mulder." Mulder turned the TV on, and they sat without talking. "I know this isn't exactly smooth sailing so far," Scully told him. "But everything seems to be working out, don't you think?" Mulder kissed her forehead.

"I think everything is perfect," he chuckled. "Trust you to say _smooth sailing._"

Scully thought of her father, and for once she didn't feel the pain in her chest. Her father would be just as proud of her as her mother now. She would soon be juggling a job and family, but she would worry about that when the time came. Mulder was doing great, she would too.

**TBC..**


	9. The Nanny

**A/n:** I can't believe I've written so many chapters of this already, it doesn't really feel like it! I'm sorry, this update is kind of late. As most of you know I'm not living at home right now and it's really quite difficult to find the time and place to write. I cannot wait until January when I'm back home! Now I have a couple of ideas of how I could proceed with this story... If you have anything you want put into the story let me know and I'll see if I like it/can add it in I will.. So really, should I make this story more than a couple of chapters longer, or should I just leave it at that?

Wow, I still haven't posted this. I had a major case of writers block to top it all off. I made a promise with myself though. I told myself I would get this up before Christmas! Even though I'm working 9 hours tomorrow... sigh

**Chapter 9: The Nanny**

--

Mulder had been away on an x-file out of town. Scully thought she'd handled everything really well on her own, considering she was so used to having Mulder around now. He'd been gone Wednesday night, and Thursday and he came back very late Friday night. He'd slipped into bed around three in the morning smelling of greasy take-away food. She just wrinkled my nose, and turned away from him.

In the morning, she found that her alarm clock had been turned off. She could hear Mulder talking to Carrie. She padded out to the kitchen wearing her pajamas and leant against the door-frame. Mulder had wet hair from a shower, and he was feeding Carrie. He was leaning in close so that his nose touched hers.

"Hey Scully," he said without moving. Carrie moved first looking up at Scully. She pointed. "Maaaaa-maa," she sounded just like a lamb. Mulder looked at Carrie in surprise.

"Yeah," Scully said with a half smile on her face. "She started calling me her mama yesterday." Mulder could tell Scully was unsure how she felt about this. Mulder cleaned Carrie up and gave her a toy so that she could stay in the high-chair and see them while they ate breakfast, and drank their usual -- coffee.

"So how was the case?" Scully glanced at the clock, ten in the morning. She hadn't slept in like this since before she brought Carrie home.

"It was fine, let's talk about that later. Is the nanny coming in today?" He asked, passing her a bowl of cereal.

"Yes, after lunch some time. Did you turn my alarm off?" Mulder gave her a sheepish smile. She rose from the table and tipped the rest of the milk from her cereal down the sink, and placed the bowl and mug into their dishwasher.

"I missed you," Mulder said picking up the squeaky duck toy that Carrie threw to the ground. Carrie didn't appreciate it, and threw it at his head. Squawking indignantly at him. Mulder laughed and Carrie played with the other toy he had handed her. Pressing each button and listening to the tune it made.

"I missed you too," Scully said leaning against him, her head resting against his shoulder. "She's so clever, look at her." Carrie concentrated on the buttons of the toy and pressed the tune she liked best. 'Twinkle little star' and Mulder hummed along with the tune.

"Do you think she recognizes the star, or the colors or something?" Mulder asked her. Scully just smiled and ran her hand gently over Carrie's hair.

"I'm not sure, but she definitely chose the perfect song." He just looked at Scully curiously.

"Why?"

"Stars, sky... Little green men." Mulder chuckled.

"Just a little far fetched,"

"Just a little," she echoed laughing with him.

--

The nanny arrived five minutes early. She gave a friendly smile and shook each of their hands. She was only as tall as Scully, and she had short, brown hair. It was curly and frizzy and stuck up on end. She looked like a very bouncy person. Bouncy, literally. The woman almost skipped to the couch and sat down, grinning happily.

"I'm so glad you want to meet me, Ms. Sully." She said, grinning so widely Scully thought her face might split.

"Uhm, it's Scully, actually." Mulder sat down beside Scully and the two exchanged worried glances. This woman had good references, but she was a little bit... Over-enthusiastic so far.

"Right, right." She nodded. "So, what do you want to know? I assume you're the father? Uhm, Bear or Cat or something..."

"I'm Fox Mulder,"

"Well I got it half right." She said smiling and nodding again. Scully and Mulder exchanged another look. _What part was right about that_?

"...Yes" Mulder said slowly. "Would you like a coffee, or tea or something?"

"A coffee please, three sugars and milk." She couldn't smile any bigger. Scully's eyes almost popped out. _Three sugars._

"I - well... We mostly wanted to meet you. And see what you're like - to see if you're suitable." Scully said awkwardly. Wishing she could push this extraordinarily happy person out the door. She frightened her more than peoples, or really mutants like Tooms or Donnie Pfaster.

"Thank you, thank you so much. Ms. Skull, I really appreciate it." She couldn't believe the woman had gotten her name wrong, again... Mulder came out and handed her a coffee mug. Carrie's cries came from the baby monitor, and Scully leapt to her feet.

"I'll go check on her." She said walking as fast as she could without running to Carrie's room.

"Hey girlie," Scully said picking up Carrie who continued to cry. Scully opened the curtains and rocked Carrie taking as much time as she could moving to the changing table. It took her almost ten minutes to change and dress her. When usually it took half that time. She finally went out, and Carrie was quite happy to sit and play. The woman, Rachel House knelt down and got right in Carrie's face. She got stroppy and threw her toy at Rachel, who stood looking quite offended.

"She didn't mean it." Mulder said standing. "Maybe it's time you left?" He said as nicely as possible. Rachel looked quite surprised, but she stood grabbing the handbag she'd brought in and followed Mulder to the door. "Thanks for coming,"

"Yes, yes. I enjoyed my time." Rachel lied, looking for all the world like she was about to cry.

"I think she's going home for a cry, she knows she's not getting the job." Mulder told Scully when he came back in.

"What if they're all like that? She couldn't get either of our names right. Not even the second time!"

"I know, she had good credentials though. We'll just have to keep looking."

"We don't have much time, today and tomorrow? And it's a weekend. We shouldn't have just gone by the paperwork." She sighed and Mulder came over, rubbing her back soothingly.

"It'll be okay, we'll find someone."

--

"I found someone," Scully sang as she came in the door. Mulder peered from behind the couch, and Scully heard a giggle. He grinned up at Scully.

"We've been playing peek-a-boo. So who'd you find?" He got up from the floor and sat on the couch, patting the seat next to him. Scully sat next to him, grinning.

"Isabelle. She's just turned twenty one, and she's looking for a new job." Scully told him excitedly. "I've known her for years, she lives in the apartment building across from us. How perfect is this?"

"Has she done nanny-ing before?" Mulder asked, looking a bit worried still.

"She has seven younger brothers and sisters. She helped her mom out so much, she is _great_ with children. She _loves_ them."

"How did you find out she would do it?"

"Well as you know, I just went for a jog. And on my way back she waved me over to see how I was. Then we got talking, and she mentioned how she was looking for a new job." Mulder nodded.

"It sounds good." Though she could tell he was still going to get Isabelle checked out; using the Lone Gunmen, or maybe he'd do his own background check. She wasn't insulted, she knew Mulder was just looking out for _their_ daughter, Carrie. But she trusted Isabelle, and found the arrangement perfect. Her mind would be so much more at ease when they weren't home now that she _knew_ the Nanny.

**TBC**


	10. Back in the game

**Chapter 10: Back in the game**

**A/n: **Well that was going to be the end. (For the second time...) I just didn't want people to get tired of my story... But it seems no-one is (that I know of..) and I'll continue it... Hope you like the chapter please r&r.. Hope y'all had a good Christmas. :-)

**J Edgar Hoover Building**

**Basement Office**

Scully felt strange in her pant-suit, make-up on and her hair done up. She felt strange sitting in her office too. People stared as she and Mulder got off the elevator. She knew that the only person in the whole building who knew for sure that she and Mulder were together, was Assistant Director Skinner.

The rumors had been going around and around since the beginning of their partnership anyway. "They got married," "They actually hate each other," "They had a baby," "They had sex in their office!!" Scully laughed at them all, not one of them were true. She couldn't even have children. Hate each other? Ha. Yes, they argued a heck of a lot. But to tell the truth, the amount of times they had argued and ended up in each others arm were... Too many to count.

Their friendship, partnership or relationship whichever you want to call it, had changed only slightly over the years. Their trust in each other had strengthened, and they had finally come to admit the feelings they had for each other, but only to themselves. Neither had uttered a word about it to each other until Carrie.

She typed for a while, until she felt Mulder's eyes on her. She looked over. He looked away and pretended to be busy. This was what she had dreaded. The awkwardness. It was her first day back, and she was missing Carrie like crazy; which was bad enough. But the fact that her partnership with Mulder at work had been compromised? This was not good.

She typed up the rest of the report, trying to decipher Mulder's handwriting. The room was silent apart from the tapping of the keys. It was so quiet she could hear Mulder breathing which for whatever reason made her want to... No, she wouldn't go there -- not at work. She went out to get a glass of water from the water cooler, and sat back down sipping noisily trying to drown the silence. Wishing for once they had a Radio in their office.

She was about to get back to work when the sound of the lock clicking made both she and Mulder reach for their guns, they crept towards their door, both of them had their guns poised and ready. They looked at each other and without speaking knew instinctively what each other was going to do. Before they had reached the door a folder was slid under their door, and they heard running footsteps.

Scully dove for the door and tried to open it, but whoever had put the folder through had locked the door, not unlocked it. She snatched out her key and unlocked it, racing down the hallway, but she was too late. The person had taken the stairs, and when she stood at the bottom she couldn't hear them running. She went up one flight of stairs anyway, gun still in front of her. She decided to give up when a lone agent came down the stairs with his arms up in the air and his eyes wide with surprise; was he stupid enough to think she would shoot him?

"It's okay, he's gone..." She mumbled and went back down to their office. Mulder had the folder open on their desk, she came around to his side and read it with him, it was a case-file...

By the time she'd finished reading Mulder was on the phone to AD Skinner. She quickly gathered the photos and all the papers together and put them back in the folder.

"We have to go up and see him now," Mulder said grinning. "I'm glad you're back Scully." She smiled too. Though she couldn't understand what Mulder found so interesting about the case-file that had been slid under their door, but she wasn't worried. She felt excited about the case. She hadn't worked in just over a month, and though she missed Carrie, and worried about her... It was still good to be back at work. She wondered if that was a bad thing for a mother to be thinking, but didn't want to dwell on it.

--

"It's good to see you back Agent Scully," AD Skinner told her as they entered. He always seemed to serious, and so tense. But she knew that he was always looking out for them, and she was grateful for it. "And how is Carrie doing?" He asked in a low voice.

"It's good to be back Sir, and Carrie is doing very well." She sat down, and tried to relax, but like Mulder she looked a little tense. They were always like this at the beginning of a case.

Mulder passed AD Skinner the file. Scully wasn't worried, because the case was actually _in_ Arlington. Though that didn't give her much comfort to have a murderer on the loose so close to her own home... At least she could get home for Carrie -- they didn't have to go away.

"Where did you get this file Agent Mulder?" Scully and Mulder exchanged a quick look. And Skinner rolled his eyes. "Alright then. But this sounds like so many of your other x-files Agent's. No idea how the perpetrator got in, no weapon..." He shrugged his broad shoulders and handed back the file. "Keep me up to date."

"Will do," Mulder said and led Scully from the room.

"She's back in the game," Skinner said as his office door closed. Not that anyone could hear him, he couldn't help but smile.

--

"Okay, so Terrance Murray was sitting here when he received a shot to the temple."

"Almost execution style," Scully replied examining the photos taken at the crime scene.

"And this is where his girlfriend Jasmine Hawk was..." Mulder paused. "Raped, and then died due to asphyxiation." _She was strangled_. Scully said in her mind as she looked at the photos. _The poor girl was raped and then strangled to death_. She only looked to be in her twenties, and the man, Terrance looked to be in his late thirties. Mulder and Scully only looked around the crime scene a little longer.

But by the time they got back to their office to lock up, it was dark. Scully rang Isabelle who said Carrie was a little restless, but she'd finally gone to sleep. Scully thanked her, and hurried after Mulder. They had to quickly visit the coroners office before they went home. They had to put their name in to get the autopsy reports, which probably wouldn't be ready until the following night; that was usually the way.

It didn't take long, and when they got home Scully wrote down Isabelle's hours and thanked her profusely. Isabelle hugged her and then left. To Scully's surprise, after she'd showered and dressed in her pajama's she came out to the kitchen and Mulder had made spaghetti bolognaise. Either she'd had a very long shower, or Mulder was a very fast cook.

"I thought I would whip up a quick dinner after our hard work today." She kissed him on the neck, and hugged him, pressing her face into his chest and breathing in his scent. Thank God for Mulder. She thought as she pulled away. Mulder tucked a piece of her wet hair behind her ear. "I know I don't say this often enough," Mulder began but Scully cut in, finished his sentence, it had almost become cliché now.

"But I love you," she chuckled. "Me too Mulder." He smiled and sat down, she sat next to him eating the whole bowl and touching her tiny stomach. "Wow I'm so full, thanks." She said with a laugh. "Most the time I'm too tired, or I just forget to eat dinner when we've been busy all day."

"Me too," Mulder said putting his plate in the sink. "But I have my family to think about now." Scully kissed him again, this time on the lips. She pulled away when she needed air, and Mulder backed away with a laugh. "Don't do that again, I may not be able to control myself Scully." She laughed with him and turned to the sink.

"When you go to have a shower," she said looking over her shoulder. "Can you check on Carrie again?" He laughed.

"You checked on her before Isabelle left, after she left, and then after your shower. I think she's okay..." He opened the door and turned back. "But, I'll check on her for your peace of mind, and mine too." And with that, he closed the door.

**TBC**


	11. Impulsive or not impulsive?

**A/n: **Happy New Year guys... Though my next chapter may be up before then... Just in case. Thanks for the reviews. This chapter is probably one of the fluffiest. 0:-)

**Chapter 11: Impulsive, or not impulsive?**

For some reason, earlier today when she was doing autopsies on Jasmine Hawk and Terrance Murray; for possibly the first time she panicked. After taking out the rape-kit for Jasmine; she'd imagined little Carrie at home in her cot; or sleeping peacefully and looking so beautiful. Then Carrie's chubby, and rosy cheeked face appeared before her eyes, and she'd had to put everything she was holding down and take several deep breaths. Someone was always behind the two-way glass, as she had to have someone witness the autopsy. For once she'd been glad it wasn't Mulder observing, he surely would have been worried.

It had taken her from early morning until lunch-time to do the autopsy. So on her way from the lab she stopped in and told Mulder she was going home, there wasn't anything more for her to do. He just gave her a concerned smile. He knew better than to ask her what was wrong. Her answer would always be 'I'm fine.' She'd talk to him when she was ready.

--

She arrived home and knocked, to let Isabelle know she was coming in. It felt quite strange to be knocking on her front door, but she didn't want to frighten Isabelle. "It's me, Scully." She called before she opened the door. Isabelle came to the door, and when she saw it was Scully quickly dashed to Scully's computer. She plonked herself into the chair, and continued click-clicking the mouse.

"I'm-playing-a-game-just-a-minute..." She said slowly, her eyes never leaving the screen. Scully laughed lightly and dropped her things onto the couch. She checked the time, Carrie should be waking anytime soon.

"I'm going to make myself some lunch, have you eaten yet?" Isabelle stood looking a little grumpy.

"I lost, can you believe it? I lost." But her lips turned up into a smile. "Thanks anyway. Can I just go take a peek at Carrie before I leave?"

"Sure," Scully followed and they tip toed into Carrie's bedroom. Carrie was holding her nappy in her hands and looking at the wet sheets and blankets with a strange look on her face. "Oh no," Scully covered her eyes. "Oh no, oh dammit!" She quickly brushed past Isabelle and took the damp nappy from Carrie's hands.

"I'll... Just go," she heard Isabelle call half way to the front door by now.

"Lock up after you,"

"Will do." The door slammed. Scully looked at Carrie.

"How on earth did you get your nappy off Carrie?" She asked her. Carrie giggled.

"Oops," Scully grinned. She'd never heard Carrie say that before.

"Oops," Scully mimicked taking Carrie from her cot and placing her on a blanket on the floor. She quickly gathered the sheets and ran to put them in the laundry. By the time she'd come back in Carrie had only just begun to roll. She'd found she couldn't leave Carrie anywhere without her rolling her way into trouble. Scully stood in the doorway and watched Carrie pull herself along with one arm, and reach her toy-box. Carrie then pulled herself up and stood there staring at the toys.

"Mm-mm-mom?" She lifted one hand to the side of her head.

"Later Carrie," Scully couldn't stop the warm feeling that filled her at the sound of Carrie calling her Mom so much now. She lifted Carrie up and took her into the bathroom where she ran a bath for her. Carrie squealed in delight when she saw Scully take out her toys from the cabinet under the sink.

Scully dressed Carrie in a pink top with white flowers around the sleeves, and a little collar with flowers on the edge. She admired the top while finding Carrie a clean nappy. She then put on her white pants, and the shoes she'd bought to match her top. Mulder had complained that Scully dressed Carrie in too many outfits per day. But Carrie didn't seem to mind, and Scully just loved dressing Carrie.

Her Mom had laughed on the phone when she'd been dressing Carrie. She'd told her 'you hated dolls as a child, and never wanted to dress them. Now look at you?' Scully had literally looked in the mirror across the room. And smiled as Carrie looked up at the same time, kicking her bare legs in the air. She may have been worried about being a mother, but she was enjoying it - so far.

"We're going to go shopping sweetie," Scully told Carrie as she found her soft toy cat and attached it to the belt loop on Carrie's pants. Probably not a smart idea, but better than losing the cat. She lifted Carrie onto her hip and grabbed her baby-bag and her own hand-bag before double checking to make sure the door was locked properly. She'd learnt her lesson about making sure the door was locked properly, how many times had crazies like Donnie Pfaster been in her house? She placed Carrie in her car-seat and un-tied the soft toy cat. "Play with kitty," Scully told her and climbed into the front seat.

"Cah, Cah." Carrie said from the back seat. Scully wasn't sure if she was saying 'car' or 'cat' but she smiled all the same. It was nice, leaving work early to spend time with her daughter. It felt natural, to think 'daughter' or even to say 'daughter' now. She'd adopted Carrie almost two months ago now. Though it only seemed like a few weeks sometimes.

She couldn't say her relationship with Mulder was changing very much though. It should be, she knew that. But at night as she lay curled next to him she felt unsure of herself -- which wasn't a feeling she was used to. It's not like they were awkward around each other, it was more... They were cautious. The worrying thought that kept her up at night was 'does he really love me?' Because sometimes she was scared, she thought maybe he had lied just so that she could get Carrie. She knew he'd always felt guilty that she'd been left barren. Though she'd tried to console him many times, and tell him it wasn't his fault -- because that was the truth. She'd driven on auto-pilot, so lost in her thoughts that she made it to the shopping centre without really thinking about where she was going. Her heart jumped to her throat and she looked back at Carrie. Carrie was fascinated by something out the window. Scully shook her head, she had to stop doing that. It was _dangerous_.

--

By the time she arrived home it was late and time for Carrie to be fed and put to sleep. She dropped the shopping bags on the floor and found Mulder was standing in the kitchen doorway looking at her. She could tell he was happy to see her. She had an urge to put Carrie on the floor and run to him and kiss every inch of his face. But that would have been impulsive, and she didn't do that. Instead she kissed his cheek and let her hand brush over his arm and she placed Carrie in her high chair. Mulder held up a bowl of Carrie's food.

"I knew you'd be home soon," Scully smiled and stood back, letting Mulder feed Carrie. She loved to watch Mulder with Carrie. Who would have thought he would be like this? So, so great with children. She supposed she hadn't really seen him around babies, or small children before now. But as the days had gone by since they'd adopted Carrie, she'd noticed a huge change in him towards Carrie. He'd gone from nervous, and worried to relaxed and happy. She supposed she'd been the same as him at first though, they were both first time parents. It didn't help that Carrie had been through such a trauma either. Mulder cleaned Carrie up and handed her to Scully. "I'll be there in a second." He began rinsing off Carrie's bowl. Scully suddenly realised she had _the_ perfect man. He may not be there all the time, and maybe his office was a mess. But at home, with her and Carrie he really did his best to make things easier for her.

Scully changed Carrie's nappies and put her in the cot. She squirmed under the blankets crying loudly. She was exhausted, it was really quite late for her to be going to sleep. She kissed her soft forehead, and breathed in her baby smell. Running her fingers over Carrie's hair. She still didn't have very much, but that was okay, it'd grow eventually. Mulder came in and kissed Carrie on the forehead.

On the way out of the room, Scully flicked off the light and shut the door. Grabbing Mulder's elbow she turned him around and kissed him gently on the lips. He didn't smile with his lips, only his eyes, and he pressed his lips against hers again, this time running his tongue along her lower lip. The phone rang making them both jump. Mulder pulled away first. He had his arms around her, and her arms had made their own way up and around his neck. She was surprised, in all the time he'd lived her this hadn't happened. Sure in bed it was a little different. With their bodies pressed against each other it was a little hard not to give in. But generally the most they did was hold hands, or hug. Just before Scully picked up the phone, Mulder called out to her. "Hey Scully, I loooove you." He winked, and she laughed. But she felt her heart rate speed up. Though he'd winked, and laughed along with her -- she knew he'd been serious. He loved her, and this wasn't the first time he'd said it but this was probably the first time she'd truly, truly believed it.

"Scully," she said into the phone.

"Hi Dana,"

"Hi mom," Scully rolled her eyes at Mulder who rubbed a hand over his face and collapsed backwards onto the couch making her laugh.

"What is it? What're you laughing about?"

"Nothing," Scully told her.

"Yes.. So how are you? How's Carrie?"

"We're both fine."

"And Fox?"

"Carrie's still awake Mom, can I call you back tomorrow?" Mulder sat up with a grin and tickled her ribs making her laugh into the phone.

"I guess you're busy then." Her Mom said in one of those 'all knowing' voices. "I'll call you tomorrow night then." Scully nodded and hung up the phone. Mulder pulled her down onto the couch with him.

"I actually want to talk to you about something." He told her. She curled up on the opposite end of the couch, and looked at him.

"Well, what is it?" She asked, when he didn't speak.

"Well when I first moved in... I mentioned buying a townhouse." Scully's eyes widened but she said nothing. "When we're finished this case, I figured we should go look for one." He grinned and she leapt across the couch wrapping her arms around him tightly.

"Thank you Mulder," talk about not being impulsive; She told herself as she began kissing him again.

--

"What the hell?" Scully rubbed her aching head. She found herself on the ground, and a lump on the back of her head. Then her memories flooded back. Mulder... Couch... Damn. Mulder sat up and helped her up.

"Did you fall off the couch?" State the obvious why don't you.

"Must've, I was pretty tired," she smirked. "I don't even remember hitting my head." She rubbed her head again, it still hurt. Mulder smiled and kissed her again. She sighed against his mouth, she could _definitely_ get used to more of this...

**TBC**


	12. Trouble

**Chapter 12: Home**

Scully couldn't help it. She was too excited not to tell her... She hit speed dial and sat down next to Carrie on the ground. It was only 6.30 in the morning, she'd probably be waking her. But she was sure that her Mom would get over it.

"Mom," Scully said into the phone quickly after hearing a grunt to show that someone had answered the phone. "Mulder and I are going to go and look for a _home_ and Carrie can-"

"It's Bill." Scully froze. Oh fuck. She thought and dropped Carrie's toy she was holding. Bill. Not Mom, it was Bill on the other end of the phone. There was a scuffle and then her Mom's voice came over the line.

"What's Bill doing there?" Scully asked, realising her tone was accusing. She heard her Mom sigh. "He's come for a visit with Tara and Matthew while he has some leave. I think you'd better ex-"

"You can talk to him. By his tone of voice I don't even want to go near him for a year." Scully said suddenly feeling petulant. "I have to go," she hung up and banged her head against the couch cushion a few times. Mulder came out drying his hair. Carrie squawked at Scully grabbing her pants and pulling.

"I just.." Scully sighed. "I'll talk to you about it later." She loosened Carrie's tight grasp on her pants and picked her up, rocking her and looking anxiously at the door. Where was Isabelle? Then she looked at the clock and realised there was still fifteen minutes until she had to be here. Carrie cried, and Scully had to hand her to Mulder. "Quiet, quiet Carrie." She said grouchily. Carrie blinked, and stopped crying. A few tears trailing down her chubby cheeks. Scully wiped them away absently, kissing her forehead.

Mulder's eyes followed her as she left the room, she could feel them burning into her. What the hell was she going to do? Bill was going to cause trouble. He was going to ruin _everything_ and he was going to cause trouble with Mulder. Mulder didn't deserve to have Bill pestering him.

She walked back into the room calmer after thinking over it. She'd talk to Mulder, and then Bill separately. She'd make sure Bill listened to her. She took Carrie and kissed her feeling guilty for being so grumpy. Mulder looked slightly more relieved to see she wasn't quite so angry. There was a knock at the door and Mulder let Isabelle in.

"Ish! Ish!" Carrie squeaked out excitedly and Scully handed her to Isabelle. Feeling a jolt of jealousy run through her. Mulder took her arm and led her out of the house.

"Bye hunny," Scully called over her shoulder, and Isabelle and Carrie waved.

--

"What's wrong?" Mulder asked as soon as they reached his car. Usually they took separate cars, but this morning she'd unconsciously followed him.

"I - this morning I blurted out your name on the phone, and I thought it was Mom and it was... Bill." She wasn't sure if it was just her imagine, but Mulder seemed to pale so slightly as she said her big brothers name. "I also mentioned Carrie." She sighed. "But I can sort this out. He's going to be mad I didn't tell him earlier. But I'll work it out, I promise." She put her hand on his arm. He searched her eyes and smiled.

"I know you will, I just don't want Bill anywhere near me until he's cooled off." He shuddered. "I think he'd kill me if he had half a chance." Scully laughed.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. I better write to Charlie too though." Mulder looked at her curiously before turning his eyes back to the road.

"I've never met Charlie."

"Ha, Tara's only met him once, and how long has Bill been married to her?" She counted in her head but lost count. "Quite a while." She said finally. She paused. Did she just compare Tara and Bill a _married _couple to Mulder and herself? She checked his reaction, he just looked thoughtful about something.

"Can you believe there's only a month until Christmas? That's one month today." He said. She looked at the date and time on her cell phone.

"Carrie's first birthday is on January 6th."

"Should we have a party for her, and invite people?" She shrugged, not many people even knew about her.

"So our files are definitely sealed now?" She asked him, suddenly remembering how worried she was when Dr. Barnard had been able to check their files.

"Yeah. Which reminds me, the guys want to come over for a visit. I said they could probably come tonight or tomorrow for a drink or two." He looked at her questioningly. She smiled, feeling very much in control. He was asking her permission? She gave him an evil smile.

"What if I said no?"

"Then I'd have to punish - ow!" She punched him in the arm as he parked. He leaned in close to her. "Then I'd have to do _something_ about it. We can't have you bossing me around now, can we?" He kissed her on the lips and they got out of the car. Scully turned to lock her car when she noticed another female agent standing by her car, goggling at them. She squinted, and realised it wasn't an agent, it was Holly.

"Hey Holly!" She waved. Holly came over, slowly. Mulder stood next to her, she couldn't tell if he knew Holly had seen them.

"Hi Agent Mulder, Agent Scully." She relaxed when Scully smiled at her. "I didn't see anything," she said with a tiny smile. "I was locking my car doors." They walked in with Holly, filling her in on everything that had happened. She seemed quite stunned when she got off the elevator. But Scully had always liked her, and trusted her. Mulder seemed indifferent to it all. When the elevator doors closed his hand moved to her hip and she felt it moving slowly downwards, she pushed his hand away.

"Agent Mulder, what do you think you're doing?" She gave him a cheeky grin as she stepped off. Mulder laughed.

"Nothing Agent Scully, I was just-" He paused, grabbing his gun from it's holster and stepping in front of Scully. She frowned at this, and got out her own gun, stepping out from behind him. "In there," he hissed. Pointing to the closet across from their office.

"I know that," she whispered back. "I'm not an idiot." She muttered. He counted with his fingers and she flung the door open, and Mulder pointed his gun. Whoever it was threw something at Mulder knocking him so hard he hit their office door with a crack. Scully was torn between chasing the figure running down the hallway, or checking to make sure Mulder was okay. She quickly chased after the figure, but stopped when he shot backwards at her, and aimed, shooting him in the leg. There was a cry of pain, but the figure kept running until he reached the stairs, he then turned and aimed the gun back at her. She shot again this time closer, she aimed and hit him in the chest. The gun slipped from the mans fingers and she felt cold all over. She'd just killed someone. What if he was innocent? Though he had shot at her...

She crept forward, the man had a suit on, and an FBI badge and her heart nearly stopped, but he had a balaclava on? Why would an FBI agent have a balaclava on? She slipped it off his face, and didn't recognise the blank face.

"Scully," Mulder croaked coming up behind her. "What happened?" She turned to run and smacked into his chest and he held her close.

"He shot at me," she whispered. "I didn't know..." She yanked the FBI badge from the mans chest and threw it at a wall. "I didn't _know -_ I just..." Mulder moaned and rubbed his forehead, blood was dripping down his face from a small wound above his eyebrow. He reluctantly let Scully go and picked up the badge.

"It's not real," he told her. Scully stopped panicking, still feeling freezing cold she reached her hand out.

"How do you know?" He pulled his out and compared it to the badge. The border on the badge was slightly different. "How the heck did you notice that?" Scully asked him, her eyes wide with wonder. She looked at the dead man at the bottom of the stairs. "Who the hell is that?" She felt a little faint. She was so relieved she hadn't killed an FBI agent, but she'd still killed someone. Mulder touched her arm.

"Let's find Skinner okay?" She trembled slightly but put on a brave face.

--

Mulder knew that no one but him would know how shaken she was over all this. He compared this Scully to the one who'd been talking so animated to Holly on the elevator this morning. They were so different, though the one who'd been talking to Holly this morning was a Scully he'd only seen since they'd adopted Carrie. And he loved it, it was her care-free side. The side that didn't constantly worry. He led her into Skinner's office and made her sit down while he explained. As they stood to lead Skinner down, Scully noticed the cut on his forehead, and she stopped him in the doorway, inspecting it.

"We need to get that stitched." She was looking up at him, her sweet, kind eyes filled with concern for him and he had to take a couple of steps backwards to resist just leaning down and kissing her beautiful little mouth. He put his hand on her back, and she looked up with him, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Mulder are you-"

"I'm okay." Skinner was at the elevator looking impatient.

--

Scully took Mulder down to the lab after they'd showed Skinner where it had happened and briefly gone over it. She numbed the area before stitching it. It was still bleeding, luckily it wasn't right over his eye or it'd have been dripping straight into his eye. Blood matted his hair on the right side of his face, and dried blood left a trail down his face. She gently sponged his face and hair clean. She could see so many emotions running through his face.

"I had to try so hard to resist..." He whispered. "How will we do this?" She looked at him in confusion.

"Resist what?"

"Temptation," he said running his finger across her lips. She laughed.

"But hasn't it always been like that? It had been for _me._" He thought about it.

"You're right." He laughed and stood up. "But now I can do this," he leant forward and kissed her.

"Hang on," she said and quickly jogged across the room opening the door and checking behind the two-way mirror. You never knew... Then she ran back and let Mulder wrap his arms around her. "Who do you think I killed?" She asked rubbing her nose against his.

"I don't know..." The door to the lab opened and they sprung apart. Skinner stood there looking the same as almost always looked. Pissed off. But he looked a bit sheepish for a second there.

"Did I interrupt something?" Scully looked at a spot above Skinner's head, and Mulder looked at Skinner's shoes.

"Nice Shoes-" Mulder began.

"-Did you know..." Scully said at the same time.

"I guess I did then." Skinner laughed. He actually _laughed._ She'd rarely heard him laugh. She put the things away and they followed Skinner. "You have to make a statement. If they can separate you guys." He said looking at them, Mulder with his hand on her lower back. Scully scowled, and Mulder stared defiantly, and didn't let his hand drop from her back. "I was kidding." He told them with an eye roll. "Good luck," and he left them standing outside an office door.


	13. Surveillance

**Chapter 13: Surveillance**

**A/n:** Well here you are, Chapter 13. And I thought I wouldn't make it much past Chapter 1. I love writing this, I've fallen in love with my character Carrie. Could it be because she is based on my cousin?

Thank you so much for the reviews, I know this isn't perfect but I haven't got a BETA I prefer to go it alone which often annoys people. But I don't mind people pointing out my mistakes and I'm more than happy to go back and fix them.

I have gone over all the chapters and corrected some of the spelling etc. And when I get a chance I'll replace all my chapters with the new versions.

--

She'd given a statement, and she and Mulder had gone down to view the autopsy of the John Doe. Scully had to think 'happy thoughts,' as she watched it. She told herself over and over again 'you had to do it, you had to do it.' She tried to picture Carrie's face. She knew she should be concentrating on the autopsy in front of her, but she wasn't sure she could handle it. She'd shot a man, she'd _killed_ a man. Doctor Robertson was covering for her, and he was about to cut into the John Doe's cranium when a wave of nausea hit her.

"I - have to leave." She told Skinner and all but ran from the room.

She found herself in the bathroom. Cursing herself for being so weak. She'd done this before, why was it so hard this time? Maybe she was just being more emotional; things had changed a lot since the last time she'd had to view an autopsy of someone that _she_ had shot.

There was a knock on the door and she knew it was Mulder. But before she could tell him to go away he came in and looked around furtively. There was no one else in the bathroom.

"This is the female bathroom Mulder, unless you haven't noticed." She stood up straight. Before Mulder had burst in she'd been hunched over the sink feeling sorry for herself. But she'd be damned if she let Mulder see her upset over something so trivial. _A man's life is not trivial_. The rational voice in her head yelled. _You're just trying to make yourself feel better._ But Mulder ruined her resolve when he hugged her and she crumbled in his arms. How could she not?

--

"The guy isn't our snitch. The one who gave is the file." Mulder told her as they headed down to their office.

"It never crossed my mind." Scully said in shock. "Oh God, what if the guy I killed isn't a _bad guy_ after all?" She hadn't even realised she'd said it aloud until Mulder put his arm around her waist and shut their office door. He let her go, and made her look him in the eye.

"This guy, no matter who he is -- you killed him because he shot at you. How can he be _innocent_?" She looked at him a moment longer, then nodded.

"How do you know it wasn't the guy who gave us the file?"

"Because the guy, was actually a girl; her name is Helen Reade. And she left fingerprints on one of the photos inside the folder. I didn't bother to check until yesterday, lucky I did huh?"

"Yeah," she sat down in her chair heavily. "Do you think I should call Isabelle?" She picked up the phone and weighed it in her hand. "I suppose we're going to be late home if they ID this guy." She knew; that Mulder knew what was really going through her mind. She needed to reassure herself that Carrie was okay, and in safe hands.

"I think that's a good idea. I'll go speak to Skinner while you do that."

--

"Agent Mulder," Skinner strode across the lab towards him. "We've made an ID on the John Doe. His name is Andrew Collins." Mulder nodded, waiting. Who was he? Who had his Scully shot? "He wasn't in the FBI; the badge was most definitely a fake. We think he came into the building for something, but we can't figure out why he was in the closest across from your office. Agent Phillips over there is in charge-" Skinner pointed at an Agent standing stiffly by one of the sinks. "-and he's been speculating that this Collins guy was waiting until there were less people in the building so that he could leave again, because security footage shows he came in early this morning when again - there weren't many people." Skinner took a breath after saying so much.

"Did he have anything on him?"

"No,"

"So we have to assume that he brought something in here, he didn't come to take anything?"

"Yes, that's what I was getting to. You and Scully cannot leave the building until Doctor Robertson has checked you both out. While you were upstairs I checked your office, and it seems your lock has been broken." Mulder knew this meant that the guy had been in their office. But what had he put in there?

"Yes sir, should we check the office?"

"No, just go upstairs and stay in interrogation room 3 until you can come back down here, okay?"

"I'll go get Scully." Mulder told Skinner. His stomach turned over. Scully had been in their office, so had he, but Scully had touched things and she'd been in there for so much longer than he had.

Instead of walking, or taking the elevator he ran down the stairs, ignoring the Agent's who were inspecting the pool of blood at the bottom of the stairs. He burst into the room, and grabbed Scully's arm. What if Skinner was right, what if something in the room was dangerous? Because that was what he'd been hinting at wasn't it...? That's why they needed to be checked up by Doctor Robertson

--

Scully hung up the phone with a smile on her face. Carrie had said "Mom," into the phone and then when she'd told Carrie that Mom and Dad would be home soon, which was a lie, but Carrie wouldn't know… She'd said _Mom_ and then she'd said _Dad._ Mulder would be pleased. But as she reached for the phone again to call her Mom and organise going over there for dinner, Mulder crashed his way into the room and grabbed her arm yanking her to her feet.

"Come on, we have to get out of here. Go upstairs, and then get checked out by Robertson." She gave him a funny look. "I mean checked _up_, by Doctor Robertson. Look I'll explain when we get upstairs."

"But can't we just-" He pulled her out of the room and to the elevator before she could protest anymore. "Mulder," She said stubbornly. "What's going on?"

"The guy, his name is Andrew Collins and he went into our room. Skinner wants to make sure we're both okay. We have to go to interrogation room 3 until Robertson has a chance to see us. Collins came in early morning, and was waiting until late tonight when there are less people so that he could leave." A voice over the intercom sounded, and they looked at each other anxiously.

"Could Agent's Mulder and Scully please make there way down to the lab."

"That was quick..." Scully commented; grabbing Mulder's hand and squeezing. "We'll be fine, I don't feel any different." It was her turn to comfort him.

"I know..." He squeezed her hand back, and pressed the elevators ground floor button again. They went up to the third floor because he'd pressed that before he knew they were wanted in the labs already. And then they went all the way down to the ground floor making them both feel a bit ill.

The door to the lab stood open, and when they entered Mulder's hands dropped to his side. Skinner looked at them apologetically. Two Agent's grabbed one of Mulder's arms each, and another two grabbed Scully's arms.

"Ouch, fuck you." Scully said kicking one of the guys in the leg. He let go of her arm briefly and she scowled at him.

"Scully," Mulder said turning around and searching her eyes to make sure she was okay. She smiled and turned back to the Agent.

"You don't have to twist my arm okay? I'm not a fugitive." The Agent looked angry, but he grabbed her arm with a much looser hold this time. Mulder sent death glares towards the Agent who had hurt Scully before the door to the room he was taken into shut. "Why do we have to have Agent's with us?" She asked Skinner, who just shook his head apologetically. Scully muttered and swore under her breath. She would never get home to Carrie at this rate.

--

The Doctor gave her the all-clear almost an hour later, and she sat and waited with her back against the door Mulder had gone into. He came out and grabbed her hand helping her to her feet.

"Why did we have to have Agent's with us? Do they suspect us for something?" She whispered as the entered the elevator. To her surprise there was an Agent downstairs and he entered with them. Mulder didn't answer just gave her a look that said to be careful. But why…? The other Agent was looking at the doors; he didn't even press a button.

"Are you following us?" Mulder asked.

The Agent ignored him. "We're being followed." He pointed out to Scully who already noticed. "_We're being followed._" He repeated angrily. "Are we suspected for something?" He demanded trying to catch the Agent's eye. Scully touched his arm.

"Don't worry," but as they reached his car she realised why he was so angry. There were two Agent's tailing them now. "They're going to see us go home together... Why do they have to put surveillance on us?" She hissed at him, feeling as angry as Mulder looked. What the hell had they done wrong?

"I don't know, but I think it's coming from someone very high up." He looked up at the ceiling of the parking lot to accentuate what he'd just said. She frowned. They were the victims here, why were they being watched?

--

"I guess our covers blown then." She said as they parked outside her apartment. "Unless you want to move out while..." Mulder shook his head, and kissed her on the lips. She opened her eyes wide in surprise. Was he _trying_ to get them split up?

"It's not the same Agent," Mulder said with a laugh. He led her up to their apartment with his hand on her back.

"Who…?" She twisted around to look back at the Agent but couldn't see.

"His name is Agent Edwards; I was at the academy with him. He's okay, he won't snitch." She smiled gratefully. "I think Skinner did that for us, had Edward's tail us home instead of that asshole in the elevator." Mulder commented as he unlocked the door.

There was a squeal of delight and Scully picked up Carrie and gave her a hug. "Hey baby girl." She said giving her a kiss and handing her to Mulder so she could say goodbye to Isabelle.

"Thanks," Scully said. Isabelle grinned and patted her on the shoulder.

"I love my job," Isabelle said in a sing-song voice as she shut the door after her.

**TBC**


	14. The Note

**Chapter 14: The note**

**A/n:** Sorry, the last chapter was pretty short. And it's taken me a while to get this up.

Now, the shower-scene in this fic I didn't want to go into detail because I'm not sure of the age of some of my readers. Sorry if you wanted more, just... Make it up in your head if you like smut?

**Review-Review-Review-Review-Review **

Is the brain-washing working yet?

Here it is.

--

"Scully, wake up."

"Mmmph," she told Mulder rolling over and turning her face into the pillow. It smelled of Mulder. He shook her shoulder.

"Scully, you know you can have the day off if you need to." She grimaced into the pillow and suddenly swung her legs out of bed making Mulder leap away in surprise. She stood with her hands on her hips. Mulder's t-shirt covering her, and reaching almost her knees. She had a cross looking on her face, but her hair stuck up in all directions and completely ruined that. She scowled even more when Mulder laughed at her. "You don't look at all intimidating when you do that after you've only just woken up." He took a step forward and leant in to kiss her, but she grumpily pushed him away.

"Very funny. I'm going to shower." She stormed into the bathroom and forgot to grab a towel and some clean clothes. But she groaned, after her usual morning tantrum that Mulder had come to expect, she didn't want to go out and face him. Before she could figure out what she was going to do, Mulder came in with towels, and her clothes. But as he silently placed them on the floor, she noted he brought his in too. He shut the door and crept towards her, she eyed him nervously. "What about Carrie?"

"Still sound asleep,"

"Oh," she said dumbly as he reached around her to turn the shower on. "Are we sharing a shower now?" She asked feeling a little surprised. She'd never, ever shared a shower with him. Well apart from the de-contamination shower that one time... But this was different. Mulder was looking her in the eye now, and the mirror next to them had begun to fog over.

"We don't have to, of course." He told her concerned. "I just thought it might be... Fun." He said with a smirk. She looked at him a moment longer. Of course she wanted to share a shower with him. She smiled slowly and leant forward kissing him on the lips.

"I think it's a good idea," she lifted her arms up so that Mulder could remove _his_ t-shirt from her body.

--

When they entered their office, everything was a mess. Whoever searched their room for explosives, or dangerous items after the intruder had been in there, had made the office messier than even how Mulder usually left it in the evenings. Which was pretty damn messy. Scully started tidying up as soon as they entered, but after a few minutes of cleaning, and the phone rang. Mulder picked it up since he was closest, and looked over at Scully who continued to pick things up from the floor and put them back where they came from.

"Yes sir, we'll be right up." He nodded at Scully who was crouched by the filing cabinets. "I know sir." He put the phone down.

"Skinner wants us up in the office. He said he didn't expect you here today." Scully, predictably just rolled her eyes at this. "Carrie was grumpy this morning, she could probably pick up on our tension." She noted that he said _our_ tension. It was his way of saying he was just as worried as she was. "Scully," he said as they reached the elevator. He turned her face to him. By just saying her name, he'd conveyed so much. 'Are you okay? I'm here for you,' and 'you don't have to do this if you don't want to.'

"I'm fine. I mean - I will be fine. We just have to figure out why the hell that guy was in here in the first place. And once the FBI realises that we had nothing to do with it..." She trailed off as they began walking to Skinner's offices. Every single person they walked past stared at them, unashamed.

"Do things really get around that fast?" He whispered to her. She looked at him, but said nothing. Did the entire FBI blame them for the idiot man who had come in? Invaded _their_ privacy, and possibly planted something? Which still had yet to be found.

Skinner met them at the door. "Agent Mulder, Agent Scully." He said curtly walking over to his desk. They sat stiffly in the chairs across from him.

"Good morning Sir," Scully said.

"Do you know who this, Collins man is?"

"No, no. We've already told-" Mulder began.

"-I know you already said you didn't know him. But why else would he go into your office? We've had to put a camera in your office, outside it and also near the stairwell and elevator. It has cost us thousands of dollars already; not just in security." He frowned. "If you're holding anything back...?"

"Sir, I wouldn't hold anything back." Scully told him. I killed a man, and if I knew what he was doing in here..." She paused. "I'd tell you, okay?"

"I believe you. But frankly, most of the rest of the FBI know about this matter. They will not treat you kindly until they know what happened. So don't expect much from anyone other than me. And, before you go," he said, getting ready to dismiss them. "Watch what you do okay? The upped security means that they're going to be keeping a close eye on you."

"Thank you Sir," Mulder said. Scully nodded. It was bad enough that most of the FBI thought of she and Mulder as a joke. But now with this stupid case looming over them? Thing's would get so much worse. Mulder led her back to the elevator with his hand on her back. Though she rarely noticed it anymore, she felt nervous about it today.

"They're watching us." She said out of the corner of her mouth. "And if they see you..." Mulder looked hurt, but pulled his hand away from her. "I just don't want to be split up." She said softly when they reached the elevator.

"It's just not fair." Mulder said angrily. She resisted the urge to flinch at the anger in his voice. "I don't want to have to worry about me and you. I wish it wasn't..."

"Against protocol." Scully finished for him, and looked him in the eye so he knew she felt the same way. He reached out to grab her hand, but pulled away at the last second realising even the elevator was probably being watched now.

--

Scully was reaching for something under the desk when she found a piece of paper cello taped under it. It was folded, and hidden under the edge of the desk, she wouldn't have even noticed it if her hand hadn't brushed it. A thin stripe of red lined the back of her hand, a paper-cut. She swiped at the blood and took the note out. She knew it probably wasn't a good idea to show Mulder if there was a security camera in the room.

"Mulder," she said as she backed out from under the desk, and slipped the piece of paper into her pocket. "I cut myself, I need to go and get a band-aid."

"I have su - oh ok. Sure, maybe we should get some brunch while we're out then." She nodded and picked up her coat and handbag. Mulder locked the door after them, and neither spoke until they were walking down the street and away from the building.

"What's wrong?" He asked as they sat on a park bench. He inspected her hand and kissed it before looking up at her. She frowned at him, she didn't like him fussing like that. He just have her a smug smile. She pulled the paper out. She started wondering whether it was anything at all, imagine if she dragged him all the way out here for nothing...

"I found this..." She started unfolding the note, and he leaned in closer to her, so that he was able to read it too. In small hand-writing it read:

_--_

_Agent Mulder and Scully._

_Leave the case alone, you will find nothing._

_They deserved it._

_MeticulousMan._

_--_

"What the hell?" Mulder said staring at it. "_Meticulous man_." He scoffed.

"Is it some kind of internet username?" Mulder looked up at her in surprise.

"You could be right there, should I get the guys to look it up?"

"Good idea. Do you think that Collins left us that? And how does he know we're on the case?"

"He must've been watching us. I still don't know how he knows our names though. Maybe he can hack, like a certain few someone's we know. I'll tell them to come around tonight, I told them they couldn't come during the whole fiasco anyway."

"Okay, well have to get some drinks on the way home then I suppose." She followed him as they walked back to the J. Edgar Hoover building. Checking over their shoulders, both of them hoping that Skinner was able to get the surveillance team off their backs.

"I _hate_ the feeling of being watched." Mulder said when they made it back to the building.

"Me too." Scully said. "But we can't let it get to us, we have to solve this case so that we can get on with our lives without this case getting in the way all the time." She told him. Mulder watched as her face changed from the Scully he knew, to the Scully no-one wanted to mess with, and he smiled, but inside so that he didn't get her angry. Things would work out, he and Scully were smart - they would find out how to get out of this mess.

--

"Hello, my lovely. No Christmas Tree yet?" Frohike asked as he walked into her apartment. Scully chuckled.

"It's only the beginning of December, we still have a few more days before it becomes a must-do. As you know we've been pretty busy." She led the three men into the kitchen and allowed them to choose the drink of their choice.

"And where is Mulder?" Byers asked.

"Just getting Carrie up." Just as she finished saying that she heard Mulder saying 'Carrie let go of Daddy's hair, ow.' "There he is," she said, stating the obvious. The three men hurried into the lounge with their drinks.

"Say hello," Mulder told Carrie. Carrie waved confidently at the men, and when Mulder placed her on the floor, she pulled herself toward Frohike who had kneeled next to her blanket on the floor.

"Hey Carrie," Frohike said patting her awkwardly on her tiny shoulder. Carrie stared at him curiously, and Scully and Mulder stifled their laughs and hid their smiles behind their glasses. Langly stood near the blanket and awkwardly said "Hello little one," then took the seat furthest from Carrie. Byers walked past Carrie and sat on the couch, looking at her, and then up at Scully and Mulder. She read the look in his eyes. It was a _wow_ _this is weird_ kind of look.

"We have a favor to ask you." Mulder said outright.

"Anything for our favorite FBI agents." _And_ the only two they were friends with.

"We'd like you to search for a username, on the internet for us. We can't tell you much more yet." Frohike sat on the couch next to Byers and gazed over at Scully. "But when we go over to the Lone Gunmen headquarters," Mulder said with a smirk. "We can tell you more."

"Right," Byers said rubbing his hands together.

"So how are you guys?" Frohike asked, looking pointedly at Scully.

"We're fine. Frohike, her face is up here." Mulder told his friend as Scully leant forward a tiny bit, trying to see Carrie who was slowly making her way to Langly.

"Right you are." Frohike told Mulder, and coughed. "And are you two planning on getting married then?" Scully who didn't seem to hear the exchange just a moment before between Frohike and Mulder sat up abruptly, she definitely just heart the word married though.

"What?"

"I guess not." Byers said with a cough. "We've developed a new use-"

"We haven't exactly talked about it," Mulder said. "We don't know." Scully was surprised, she knew he was talking about the marriage comment Frohike had made. It sounded like Mulder had actually given it some thought.

"We have to get back," Langly said.

"Yes, we have a lot to do." Byers said.

"Thanks for the drinks." Frohike finished, and the three of them put their empty bottles on the coffee table as they left. Carrie, Mulder and Scully stared at the closed door in surprise. But the thought of marriage was at the forefront of Scully's mind. Had Mulder really thought about it? Or was she jumping to conclusions...

**TBC**


	15. Answers

**Authors Note: **Thank you for all the reviews! I hope I replied to them all... Sorry if I didn't. Since my emails are coming in all weird, I can never remember which ones I've replied to etc.

A big thanks to **fluff-4-life **for her help in this chapter. :-)

**Chapter 15: Answers**

_**Lone Gunmen Headquarters**_

"Well this could take a while," Frohike told them. "You don't have to be back at work in a hurry do you?"

"No, we're uh _following_ _a lead_ on the Hawk and Murray case. Which is true... It's just something they don't quite know about yet." Mulder said. He sat on the little couch and Scully sat next to him. They leaned in close so they could talk without disturbing the Lone Gunmen who were arguing about something.

"Mom called this morning, Bill is _still_ at her house, and she's had to talk him out of coming out here too many times to count. I think we'd better go and see them for dinner, or Bill is going to do something drastic..." Mulder gave Scully a pained smile

"Okay, but you know there is only _one_ reason that I'm going to do this." He whispered making sure that Frohike who tended to eavesdrop on their conversations couldn't hear them.

"What's that?" She whispered back.

"Cos I love you," he kissed her cheek and she turned away with a smirk on her face.

"Yeah, right."

"No really," he said, this time in a serious tone. "I love you." He said it loud enough that Byers blushed. Though she couldn't figure out why.

"I love you too," she answered. Puzzled as to why he was telling her now. Was something to do with what had happened last night, when Frohike had mentioned the _M_ word? Marriage.

She remembered that he'd once told her _my work demands I live in a big city, but if I had to settle down and build a home, it'd be a place like this._ She'd been surprised when he'd told her that. They'd been on a case in a small town; old houses, and large properties. But after how disturbing their case was... She wondered if he still felt like that.

Back when they'd adopted Carrie, when they'd gone for the first interview... He'd mentioned something about moving out of the apartment and into a bigger house, she hoped somewhere with a section. She wanted to have a swing for Carrie, and a big area for her to play in. She didn't want to _play_ house, like when they'd gone under-cover... No she wanted to really be that person. A mother, a wife... But then she had to stop _dreaming_, because like Mulder said. Their work demands them to live in the city. Though maybe they could compromise and get a small house, and maybe a small yard. But as long as Carrie didn't grow up in a cramped apartment.

"Scully..." Mulder was tickling her, and she swatted his hand away. She must've zoned out. "What's going on in that brilliant mind of yours?" He asked.

"We can talk about it another time; I think the guys have found something." She stood as each of the men in front of them looked over.

"His name is Andrew Collin's and he works as a mechanic..." They stared at Scully and Mulder who exchanged triumphant looks.

"That's the guy she shot," Mulder told them over his shoulder as they headed for the door.

--

They sat where they always sat. In the chairs across from Skinner's desk. The chairs always felt very uncomfortable to Scully. But it was probably because they seemed to be in his office and in _trouble_ more often than they were in there for anything else.

"We believe Andrew Collin's to be the man who killed Jasmine Hawk and Terrance Murray," Scully told him before Mulder could even open his mouth. "We've double checked, and the fingerprint found at the crime scene belongs to Andrew Collin's."

"We did run his fingerprint through the system, but nothing came up. Some _friends_ of ours found out all this information using his internet username."

"From a note, that was left in our office." Scully cut in leaning forward. "He finished the note with _Meticulousman_, as you can see yourself." She said handing him the note, which was now in an evidence bag.

After separating Scully's fingerprints from the others left on the note, she and Mulder had compared his fingerprint from the note to the fingerprint they found at the apartment. Though they couldn't say for sure themselves, they took the two fingerprints upstairs and had someone tell them officially that both fingerprints were in fact, Andrew Collin's. Because who else could have left the note? She had _no_ doubts in her mind that it was Collin's who had committed the murders.

"I'll have to put two new agents on this case, you know why, don't you?" Scully sat back in her seat in surprise. She looked at Mulder whose eyes clouded over with anger.

"But sir-"

"This man addressed both of you by name, he came to _your_ office and-"

"He's dead though. We aren't in any danger,"

"You are still too close to this case." Skinner told them firmly. "I don't know how he found out your names, or why he had to leave a note like this. He could have a partner; we don't know the reasons behind his crime yet." He shook the note for emphasis. "I will not put either of you in danger." Scully and Mulder stared at each other for a moment. What on earth was Skinner on about? Since when had he been so... protective? Why was he truly pulling them off the case? "It wasn't my choice to pull you off the case; it comes from higher up in the chain of command." He said quietly as they stood to leave.

"Thank you, sir." Scully said; not really meaning it. It wasn't really Skinner's fault they'd been pulled off the case -- as he'd pointed out so subtly. But she was still pissed off, this was _their _case.

"Why would they take us off this case? It's not exactly an x-file." Mulder said. They'd finished cleaning up, and they were sitting at Mulder's desk now. "Why would it threaten them in any way?"

"I don't know Mulder, but I've been thinking about it. I think we should just drop it. I know it was our case, but we can't afford to piss anyone off at the moment." She looked up at the corner of the room where a security camera rested, making her feel more anxious by the minute.

"I know," he said. But she could tell he wasn't going to let it go.

"Do you think they're going to leave that up there?" Though she hadn't even pointed to what she was talking about, just looked at him. He knew exactly what she was talking about.

"I don't think so. If they do? We'll just take it down. They can't invade our privacy like this forever." She nodded and switched on the computer. She wished the day would hurry up and end.

--

"Carrie," Scully grinned and took her daughter into her arms kissing her and squeezing her tightly against her chest. She couldn't believe how much she'd missed her, sitting in the office all afternoon with a grumpy Mulder and the red light of the security camera to grate on her nerves. Carrie waved to Isabelle and snuggled her head against Scully's collarbone. "I missed you hunny," she told Carrie as she headed for the lounge.

"Mom," Carrie said and quickly put her thumb in her mouth. Scully tiredly lay down on the couch, her equally tired daughter next to her. She lay so that Carrie was between her and the back of the couch and closed her eyes. _I won't go to sleep_. She promised herself.

Mulder changed and wandered into the kitchen expecting to see Scully feeding Carrie. He walked a little faster into the lounge and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Scully's red hair spread out on the couch cushion. He moved closer and noticed Carrie lying next to her; both of his girls were fast asleep. It was a pretty stupid idea for Scully to go to sleep though, Carrie would be tired and grumpy having her routine mixed up. He reluctantly woke Scully so that they could feed Carrie and put her into bed. Scully gave him a sheepish smile.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep," he rubbed his nose with hers and she slipped off the couch. "I'll go get her some dinner ready."

Carrie obviously wasn't as sound asleep as he'd thought; she was pulling herself into a sitting position now, her thumb in her mouth. "Dad?" She questioned. "Dada?" She said again and reached up her arms to be lifted.

"Dinner time Carrie,"

"Duh-n?" Carrie asked him pointing to the kitchen.

"Yeah," he said with a grin.

"Do you ever feel like she spends too much time with Isabelle, and not enough time with us?" Scully asked, opening her mouth as she put the spoon into Carrie's mouth. "Do you want to try sweetie?" She asked Carrie holding the plastic spoon next to Carrie's hand. Carrie held the spoon but looked at Scully expectantly.

"Sometimes I think that," Mulder said from behind the fridge door. "But she knows who her parents are; don't you Carrie?" He directed the last past of his sentence at Carrie who blew a raspberry spraying Scully with food.

"Carrie," Scully said firmly, and waited until she looked her in the eye. "No." Carrie reached for the bowl of food. "Have you had enough? Is that why you're playing?" She quickly cleaned Carrie up. "Say nunite to Daddy." Scully told her. Carrie bumped her head against Mulder's cheek instead of kissing him, and her thumb found its way back to her mouth. Mulder kissed her forehead and turned back to his and Scully's dinner.

"Nuh-nuh." Carrie called from the doorway. Mulder turned and gave her a little wave, and she returned it.

--

"Thanks Mulder," Scully said around a mouthful of their dinner. "I'll make dinner tomorrow." She sipped her glass of wine. Mulder had been watching something on TV, but looked at her to show he'd heard her. Both were too tired to have a proper conversation. "I suppose I'd better call my mom after this," she mused. Mulder looked up at that. She could see his eyes now, and she realized he hadn't been concentrating on the TV at all.

"I wanted to choose a better time for this..." Mulder began. His cheeks tinged red. "But I figured... you'd..." He swallowed and put the TV on pause. "Scully..." She felt her eyes water, and butterflies in her stomach flutter madly. "I want to know whether you would... marryme." He said the last two words so fast they seemed to merge together. He pulled a tiny black ring box out of the pocket of his pants and placed it on the table surface before leaning over to her. "Scully. Dana?" She asked softly, a nervous tone in his voice.

"Mulder," she said softly and swung her arms around his neck, not even thinking to look at the engagement ring he'd bought her. She just hugged him tightly, kissing his face and then hugging him again. "Oh Mulder,"

"That's a yes then?" He asked hopeful, his voice muffled against her arm as she hugged him. She pulled back, a tear slipping from her eye.

"Of course Mulder! I love you." She said, and blushed. Her behavior had been very strange for her. He opened the box, and if it was possible her smile became even bigger. The ring was perfect. It was white gold, and had one simple diamond shimmering in the center of the band. Not too big, not too small. He slipped it onto her finger, and she stared at it until one of her tears fell onto it. A perfect fit. Then she quickly wiped away her tears. "I'm sorry..." She said laughing.

"I love you," Scully looked up. She'd never heard Mulder speak in that tone of voice, so much passion... She pressed herself against him, and rested her head on his shoulder. Mulder slipped his arm around her. They sat in silence for a few moments. "What will Bill say?" He asked suddenly, and groaned. She laughed at the inopportune moment he chose to bring it up.

"Mulder?" She said.

"Yeah,"

"Shut up, and enjoy the moment." They both laughed.

**TBC**


	16. The Family

**Authors Note:** I'm sorry this has taken a while. I had writers block for a bit. And then I went away for a whole week. (I went to the Big Day Out!) I hope you're all still reading this! I have a BETA now. And Chapter 15 has been BETA'ed by **da ruth**, so THANK YOU! I think the next chapter will be my last. (And yes, I know I've said this a few times before. But if I don't finish this soon it will drag on for too long!)

**Thanks to da ruth for beta'ing this! She's been a great help. :-)**

**Chapter 16: The Family**

Scully had sent Mulder out to get a few things from the grocery store. She'd sent him to do that a few times before, and every other time he'd ended up bringing home the wrong things. But she wasn't too worried this time. She'd learnt her lesson and left him a very clear and concise list. Who could mess something so simple up? Surely not Mulder... He was a smart man.

She and Mulder had more time off again. She knew eventually all this time off would catch up on them... but for now it was good. They had so much they had to catch up on at home. It was Christmas in a week's time, and definitely the busiest time of year. She had organized going to her mom's that very night for dinner. She tried to keep it at the back of her mind. She didn't want to dwell on it. She had decided to announce her engagement to Mulder at the same time as... well announcing that she and Mulder had a _child_! She decided it would be kinder on Bill to drop both the bombshells at once, not lengthen the pain.

She glanced over at Carrie who was staring up at the Christmas tree that her mom had dropped off a couple of nights earlier. She and Mulder had arrived home to Isabelle and her mom drinking wine and grinning up at them. A huge Christmas tree sat in the corner glittering with tinsel and lights, and ornaments hung every which way. An angel was perched on the top, kind of tilted side-ways because the tree was too tall and touched the roof. She grinned and hugged them both tightly. She couldn't read Mulder's reaction but she hugged him too and felt his muscles tense, he was obviously upset. She couldn't figure out why at the time, but now she thought about it... It was probably painful for him. Christmas probably hadn't been the same for him since he lost his sister.

Carrie was touching the few presents that were already under the tree. Scully had noticed recently that out of all the babies she had ever met, Carrie was the most gentle. She seemed to know instinctively what things were delicate, and what things weren't. But as Scully looked back down at the email she'd been reading she heard a tinkling sound. And nearly threw her laptop out of the way as she ran for her baby. Carrie had pulled herself up by one of the lower branches, and it swayed ominously. Ornament's rained down on Carrie's little head. She wobbled and fell backwards, and Scully caught her; moving her out of harms way.

"Shh baby," she said inspecting Carrie for injuries. She was fine; just frightened. She scrunched up her little button nose and let out a loud wail. Tear's filled her grey eyes, so different from her ocean blue, and Mulder's hazel eyes. Scully wiped the tears away and hugged her until she stopped crying. "You're okay," she said softly putting Carrie next to her toys, as far from the tree as possible. She sat on the couch and tried to control her hands as they trembled. _I am such a bad mother._ She thought to herself angrily. Carrie could have been hurt!

A bang as the door hit the wall alerted Scully that Mulder was home, and he had his arms full. She scooped Carrie up who protested noisily about being taken away from her toys. Scully rested her wriggling daughter on one hip and shut the door after Mulder.

"Did you find everything?"

"I think so," he dropped the bags onto the kitchen table. The plastic bags rattled and Carrie reached out and touched the handle of one, and then pulled her hand back looking at the bags curiously. Mulder chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Are you okay?" He looked at Scully and opened the high chair so that she could sit Carrie in it.

"I..." Scully paused. Would Mulder be mad at her for letting Carrie get so close to being hurt? "I'm fine." She smiled and set Carrie in her high chair, strapping her in and passing her the toy attached to the tray. "Yummy!" She told Carrie and pulled out a tin of baby food and began opening it. Mulder began putting the things away, and showed her each thing just to prove he'd gotten everything on the list right. Well, almost. He did get a few _extra_ items. Like sunflower seeds.

--

"Mulder…?"

"Yeah," he unbuttoned and re-buttoned the top buttons of his shirt.

"It's going to be fine. It's just my family." She laughed and put her hand on his arm. "And Carrie's not awake yet, so we can't leave." She rubbed her hand on his arm. "Tonight will be fine, you'll see."

"I trust you," he said and left the buttons alone, pulling her to him. "I love you." He bumped his nose against hers and she tilted her head up to kiss him. But just as he went to kiss her, a cry from the baby monitor told them that Carrie was awake and not happy.

"Always being interrupted," she muttered and left the room, her skirt swishing against her legs. She felt really beautiful; she hadn't dressed up for a long time... But tonight was special. She touched her gold hoop earrings, and her necklace. She felt more feminine than she'd felt in a long time. Wearing pant-suits and toting a gun around all day didn't make her feel very feminine at all.

"Hey cupcake," Scully lifted Carrie who continued to cry into her arms. "Teething huh?" Scully said opening the curtains with one arm, and placing Carrie on the changing table. "Give me a look," she opened Carrie's mouth and noticed her gums were quite swollen. "Ouchies..." She was about to find something for her to chew on, but Carrie's mouth closed over her finger. Scully yelped and removed her finger. "No." Carrie smiled. "Bad girl," tears welled in her eyes, and Scully let out an exasperated sigh. "You hurt mommy," she told her and lay her down, finding a clean nappy.

"Everything okay…?" Mulder peered into the doorway.

"She bit me," Scully chuckled. Carrie was busy shouting 'flah! flah!'

"Where's the flower?" Mulder asked.

"On my top," she pointed to the flower on her top.

"I see," he winked; and swung Carrie into his arms. "Reading to meet you big scary uncle?" Mulder made a mock terrified face and then blew air into his cheeks making her giggle. Scully grabbed the baby bag and her own bag and followed Mulder to the door.

"I'll lock up and meet you at the car," she told him. But he was already heading for the elevator.

--

"Hi Mom," Scully called as she got out of the car. Her mom was kneeling beside a rose bush, cutting a couple of the beautiful red flowers from the plant. She placed them on the ground and dusted her hands off on her black pants.

"Hey sweetheart," She strode over to them.

"Hi Mrs. Scully,"

"Hi Fox," she took Carrie from his arms.

"Hey baby girl," Carrie grabbed one of Mrs. Scully's curly locks.

"Flah!" She insisted, and yanked. "Flah!"

"Her latest word," Scully explained. Mrs. Scully pried Carrie's fingers from her hair.

"Bill and Tara are inside; I think Matt is sleeping still. He's got a cold." She sighed. "He's not a happy boy." Scully chuckled and followed her mom into her house, Mulder followed behind them looking nervous. Bill met them in the lounge and shook Mulder's hand.

"Nice to see you again," he told Mulder looking like he thought the exact opposite of what he was saying.

"Bill," the three women now in the room warned him. Bill turned to look at the women and blinked a few times. And then took a step closer.

"What the...?" He blinked a few more times as if he didn't believe what he was seeing.

"Bill, this is... our daughter... Carrie." Scully took Carrie from her mom's arms. As if sensing the seriousness of the situation, Carrie gave Bill a charming smile.

"Your... our… your..." He looked at Mulder, livid. "You have a child with that - that - _man._" He shook his head. "This is some sick joke." Mulder took a step away from his soon to be wife as heat crept up her neck. She looked downright scary!

"Bill. I am soon to be married to this man," Mrs. Scully gasped. "You will be kind to him, because you're my brother and - and..." She trailed off and took a deep breath. "I love him. And he loves me, and you _will_ give him a chance." Bill looked from Mulder to Scully and then at Carrie who now looked scared.

"I... don't..." He seemed to be at a loss for words still.

"Would you like to hold our daughter?" Scully insisted, giving him a defiant look that told everyone in the room that if he said no, Bill may not live to tell the tale. He reached out his arms, and Carrie squirmed but didn't cry as Bill held her.

"Hi Carrie," he began, turning away from Mulder. "I'm your Uncle Bill." Carrie grabbed his nose, and for a horrible moment the whole room seemed to pause. Bill chuckled. "I think my little sister is going to have to start from the beginning and explain this one." A loud snuffling sound made everyone turn to the door at the opposite end of the room. A little boy dragging a large toy rabbit behind him looked at them all, bleary eyed, with his brown hair stuck up in all directions.

"Who's that?"

"This is your cousin, Carrie." Scully said.

"AUNTY DAY!" Matt screeched and ran as fast as his legs could take him, dodging the couches and coffee table. Scully swung him up into her arms.

"Hey Mattie, this is Mulder." Mattie grinned and waved at Mulder.

"Hi," Matt said. "I'm Aunty Day's..." His brow crinkled. "Um what's that word again Aunty? Nerf... nerf..."

"Nephew." Scully corrected.

"Oh yes, that. I'm her nephew." He told Mulder proudly. "And if I was a girl," he looked disgusted as he said this. "I would be called a NICE!"

Matt laughed hysterically and Scully put him on the ground. She and Mulder sat on the couch closest, and Matt bounced up and sat between them. He finally stopped laughing. "No actually a niece." He said seriously. "But girls are always nice so I said nice." Mulder grinned, even though the kid had confused everyone in the room already.

"I guess you're right." It looked as though Mulder had already won the little boy over, because he puffed out his chest proudly. Scully felt relieved, Matt wasn't always the easiest kid to win over. And with a cold he was much worse.

"Yup." The little boy said, he wiped his nose with his sleeve and Scully gave him a stern look and he pulled a tissue from his pocket. "Oops." He told her, and Scully smiled.

"Would you four like a glass of wine?" Mrs. Scully had disappeared from the room while they'd been talking to Matthew. Bill and Tara sat on the couch now, Carrie between them holding one of Matthew's toys. But she'd returned, her face positively glowing with happiness.

"To share? I don't think so." Tara said with a laugh. "I'd like a glass of wine thanks."

"We would too," Scully answered for Mulder. Bill declined and lifted Carrie into his arms.

"I think Carrie would like to go back to her..." He paused and seemed to be trying to get the word out so that it _sounded_ nice instead of nasty. "Parents." He placed Carrie on Mulder's knee. Somehow this made everyone in the whole room relax. One little gesture had told them all that Bill would be fine with Mulder now. Well maybe not _fine_ there was a long way to go yet. But he was at least attempting to accept him as family.

"I guess we should explain? Since only mom and Tara know."

"You knew!" Bill accused but he didn't really seem mad with his wife.

"As if Maggie could keep it all to herself." Tara said with her eyes sparkling. She patted her lap and winked at Mattie. He squeezed out from between Mulder and Scully and jumped onto his moms lap.

Scully explained everything, Mulder interrupting every now and again to add things. By the time dinner was ready Mulder seemed to be completely relaxed. Though he and Bill weren't speaking yet; they weren't fighting and that was something.

**TBC**


	17. Christmas Time

**Authors Note: **I was a little apprehensive to write this. I didn't want to stop writing about Carrie. Maybe some day I will write a sequel. :) I know most the way through the story it has been Scully's POV. But I thought I'd have Mulder's POV this one last time. I hope it's still okay!

I want to thank **da ruth**. She has been absolutely _amazing_ helping me with this chapter (and a few of my other chapters too!) But she has put a huge amount of effort into helping me. I really appreciate it!

I also want to thank all my reviewers for this story. I just loved reading your reviews, and I'm glad you enjoyed reading this. ;)

- Chrissy

**Chapter 17: Christmas time**

**One week later: Christmas morning**

Mulder woke early. He wasn't sure what had woken him, but Scully was still fast asleep, curled up at his side. He felt restless, and it took him a few minutes to remember why. It was Christmas! He was going for a Christmas dinner with Scully's family. But then, he was _almost_ family now. He wasn't sure how he felt about having Bill as a brother in law. Though he was impressed at how reasonable Bill had been; though... he still wasn't sure about him. Maybe he was planning to murder him in his sleep or something. A clattering sound came from the baby monitor, and he swung his legs out of bed and into the cold air. He let out a hiss of surprise, and quickly made his way to Carrie.

"Good morning!" He said cheerfully to Carrie who was throwing her toys against the side of the cot; but she seemed quite happy, not grumpy at all. "Merry Christmas," he chuckled and lifted her out, scrunching up his nose at the smell. "I think we're going to be changing your diapers first, huh?" Carrie babbled incoherently for a while before suddenly announcing 'mommy!' And Mulder turned his head slightly to see Scully standing in the doorway.

"I didn't want to wake you, you looked so... peaceful." He grinned. "Merry Christmas, Scully." He quickly pulled Carrie's rainbow coloured tights on, and Scully came over, handing him the outfit she'd laid out the night before for Carrie. Scully yawned noisily.

"Merry Christmas, Mulder." She smoothed down her hair, and pecked him on the cheek, and did the same to Carrie. "And you sweetie." She told Carrie who lay quietly watching them. For once she didn't try and kick Mulder as he slipped on a tiny pair of jeans, with a little pink sash through the belt loops.

"Look how good she is, she just wants her presents." Scully said with a laugh and sat Carrie up. "Arm's up Carrie," she told her. Carrie lifted her arms, but then dropped them when Mulder held up her top. Mulder rolled his eyes but chuckled, and began putting the little white top on. "Beautiful," Scully said and picked Carrie up.

"But it's time for Christmas presents now!" She dodged Mulder and quickly ran out of the room. He caught up and plonked himself next to his soon to be wife, and daughter who were sitting next to the Christmas tree. Carrie thought it was all very exciting and she bounced on Scully's knee and pointed to the presents.

"Flah!" She insisted at the brightly coloured presents. "Flah!" Scully sat Carrie between them and Mulder handed Carrie her very first Christmas present. Carrie stared at it a moment before touching it and then looking up at both her parents.

"You open it," Scully said showing Carrie how to open her present. But she didn't need much help and ended up ripping the paper from the present. Mulder and Scully smiled at each other over Carrie's head as she laughed in delight at her present. It was a little fisher price bus. When she opened the bus door the song 'when the wheels on the bus...' started up and Carrie bobbed her head. She tried to pull the dog out of the bus, and it began the same tune but this time 'when the dog on the bus...' Mulder cringed. He had a feeling he was going to be getting sick of that song very soon.

They helped her open her presents and fed her and sat her back down in the lounge to play with some of her new presents. The Lone Gunmen had brought Carrie a toy too. Mulder was impressed; they hadn't even mentioned that they were going to get Carrie a present. But it seemed they had chosen the toy by themselves. He tried not to laugh at the image of his friends inside a toy store looking for a baby toy. He thought they'd chosen pretty well. The teddy bear they'd brought her made music when she pressed its paw. She seemed to love this, and so far they hadn't been able to get her to let go of it. Even as she played with her other toys, she had one hand clutched onto the teddy bear's ear.

They'd chosen to wait until after Carrie was asleep that night to exchange Christmas presents. Mulder was especially worried about how Scully would react to his present. He knew it was something she wanted, but it was such a huge thing. And what if she had changed her mind now about it all?

--

"Well that wasn't so bad," Scully said as she closed the bedroom door with a soft click. "I think Bill was really quite good about you and I staying here." Mulder felt his palms sweating, and he hoped she didn't notice how nervous he was. Tara had let them borrow Matthew's porta-cot so that they could stay at Mrs. Scully's the night. It was easier than driving all the way home when Carrie was so tired. But he wasn't as nervous about staying at Mrs. Scully's as he was about giving Scully her present.

"No... it was..." Mulder sighed; he'd better get it over with. "Should we exchange presents now?" They were walking down the dim hallway and into the now empty lounge. It seemed everyone else had gone to sleep.

"Sure... you first." She grinned and dropped onto the couch, curling her legs under her, and looking at him eagerly. He reflected on how much Scully had changed recently, and he realised that she would like his present. He didn't have to be worried; this was Scully sitting in front of him.

"Okay." He paused and grabbed her hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze. She just looked at him in confusion. "Okay... well my mom has a house... and it's in the city. It definitely needs to be done up. I thought she had sold it... she _told_ me she had. But she has told me that... well I can have it if I want. And once it's done up... we could move in. It has a big yard and..." he trailed off. He knew he was babbling now.

"I..." Scully looked speechless. "A house and a yard? In the city so we can still work." She stared dazedly at him. "Really, Mulder?" He took a key out of his pocket.

"Really," Scully squealed, but quickly covered her mouth when she realised she would wake people. She looked at the key, but swung her arms around his neck instead and squeezed him so tightly he felt like he couldn't breathe. But he hugged her back. "I've got people working on it already; it should be ready in a month."

"Oh Mulder," when she pulled away from him, he realised she was crying. Was that a good thing? She swiped at the tears on her face. "I'm just so happy... I've always wanted this! And Carrie will love to have a yard when she's a little bigger." He couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face at Scully's joy. "I love you," she said kissing him quickly on the lips and pulling back.

"I love you too," he told her with a smile. "Now where is _my_ present?" He winked at her.

"Oh yes," she grinned and pulled a present from the floor on the other side of the couch. He opened the rectangular shaped present. He was very careful; making sure he didn't tear the paper, and most of the time his eyes were on Scully's face. She looked slightly nervous. The box was just plain white; he opened one end and slid out a slightly heavy item. He stared down at it in surprise... Then his lips turned up into a smile.

It was a silver photo frame, and engraved into the bottom were the words 'Family Memories, Last a Lifetime.' The photo inside was of the three of them; Scully, Carrie and himself, in Mrs. Scully's backyard. Mrs. Scully had snapped the photo of them, and they hadn't even noticed!

Carrie was sitting in a paddling pool; it was shallow (at both the Scully's request) and had pictures of yellow ducks around the outside of it. Carrie had on her floppy white hat, and she had a huge beach ball right beside her; it was quite comical really, the beach ball looked huge next to her.

Mulder sat on one side of the paddling pool, and Scully on the other. They were looking at each other over the top of a very happy little Carrie. The way he and Scully were looking at each other... She was looking at him with such love; like she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. But he shouldn't be surprised, that is how _he'd_ felt about Scully even before they'd adopted Carrie. Was that really how Scully had felt all along too? He looked up from the photo, and somehow Scully had read his mind and she just nodded at him. She had felt the same as he had, all this time. So why had they done nothing about it sooner? He ran his finger down her jaw.

"Thank you, this is an amazing present."

"Not as amazing as yours," she replied softly.

**--**

Scully walked next to him, Carrie on her hip. He hoped to God Scully liked the house! She was looking up at the house with such an unreadable expression on her face. He made sure that before he told her about the house -- the workers had at least fixed up the outside of the house. It was now painted white with dark green trimmings. When he'd first seen the house, you couldn't see through the windows they were so dirty. The paint was peeling on the outside of the house. It had taken a lot of work to sand the entire house, and then paint it in the small amount of time he had before Scully was to see it. But the house looked absolutely _amazing_ now.

A little path ran up to the front door, and the flower beds on either side were bare for the moment but he knew Scully wouldn't mind putting flowers in. A large tree on the front lawn had a baby swing he had bought the week before hanging from it. Scully turned to him, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears -- again. From what he could tell... she was happy. He smiled, just to be sure. And she returned it. Carrie looked over Scully's shoulder at Mulder.

"I'll put her in the swing while you look around if you like." Mulder said, eager to see if Carrie would like her swing. Scully nodded and handed Carrie over before walking up the few steps to the front door.

--

She felt like she was floating as she entered the house. Admittedly at the moment is smelt a bit musty. And most the rooms were being sanded. But it had three bedrooms, a study, a lounge, and a kitchen/dining room... and she was in heaven. This was _their_ house. She stood in the kitchen and looked out the window to the backyard, and grinned in surprise. It was a little overgrown for the moment, but it was fenced in and so much bigger than she had expected! Thoughts whirled through her mind. She pictured having a dog, maybe a little one so that it would be easier to take care of. And she knew that as soon as Carrie was old enough she would be buying a swing and slide set.

An excited squeal broke her from her reverie. And she made her way from the kitchen and back out to the front. Mulder was pushing Carrie gently on the swing, and she looked as though she was having the time of her life.

--

"I guess she likes the swing," Scully said coming over to them. "Do you like it cupcake?" She asked Carrie. Mulder stopped the swing, and Carrie let out an indignant squawk. Scully gave it a tiny push, and leant against Mulder. "I love it here," she told him. "It's so perfect. You don't know how happy you have made me."

"I think I do," he kissed her cheek. "Because I-" Carrie interrupted him by squawking again, and he gave the swing a gentle push. "Because I feel the same way." They were silent for a while, watching Carrie who didn't seem to tire of the swing. But Scully broke the silence.

"What do you think about getting a dog?" Mulder laughed, and she punched him in the arm. "Hey! I'm being serious here. Look at _our_ backyard. We could get a dog!"

"And a white picket fence?" Mulder asked. She scowled. "Alright, alright. We can get a dog." Scully smiled.

"What do you say about that Carrie?"

"Fl-ow-ah!" She insisted loudly. Scully and Mulder smiled at their daughter.

"Maybe she's not going to be a musician after all." Mulder commented.

"Maybe a florist," Scully said laughingly.

"Whatever she is, I hope she knows that she has the best mom in the whole entire world." He paused and pretended to think about it. "And the most beautiful mom too." He said it a little quieter, and made sure to give Carrie a push on the swing before he kissed Scully. He didn't want any interruptions.

**The End**

**Like it? Hate it? Leave me a review!**

If you want to see the photo frame (thanks to **da ruth** for finding it for me) take a look at this link: (You'll have to take out the spaces.)**http:// www.amazon. co.uk/ DVK-International-Photo-Frame-Enscribed/dp/B0009MAVF8 **


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